# Bee Weaver bees....worth the price?



## BudsBees (Mar 10, 2013)

Try Rossman in Moultrie Ga, Drew Bees in Hahira, GA


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## scorpionmain (Apr 17, 2012)

Tag for responses.
I am interested in them as well.
I was interested in purchasing some Queens from them, but I have heard that they do not sell mated Queens.
Dunno if this is true or not...


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## Karolus (Jan 17, 2013)

When I returned to beekeeping a few years ago, I started with BeeWeaver packages, 4 of them. I staggered their arrival over a month, so I could establish 2 hives and move them. The first two established well and did great in their final home until they were sprayed by someone who didn't like them and they died out. The second set of 2, I kept at my house. One of the two queens failed right away and BeeWeaver offered to replace her for the cost of shipping, but by that point the package was too far gone in my estimation to be worth saving and I combined them with the other package. The queen of the surviving hive lasted nearly 2 years and I believe was accidentally killed during an inspection. I've split that hive several times since then, and they have built up well. I have never treated the hive or their descendents and they beat the surplus per Hive that the two other beekeepers in my city pulled last year.

Take it for what it's worth, while I will never buy another package of bees again, I would buy more queens from them if needed.

Karolus


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>I was interested in purchasing some Queens from them, but I have heard that they do not sell mated Queens.

I have never heard that. I haven't bought any queens from them in a while now, but I bought mated queens from them off and on for 27 years (well, some of that time they were just "Weaver" and then it split into B. Weaver and R. Weaver and I was buying them from B. Weaver then...)

In all that time I got one drone layer that they replaced without charge and without question and a couple of dead packages that they also replaced (I don't know if they still do that or not with packages but they did then). Customer service was always excellent. I can't speak to current temperament of their bees, but that was my motivation to stop buying them back in 2001. Perhaps temperament has improved in the last 12 years, I can't say as I have not bought any since then.


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## merince (Jul 19, 2011)

I am also curious about other's experience with them.


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

I bought a BeeWeaver queen last summer, and her bees were not at all hot. She was superceded before the summer was over, but her daughters were also placid. I combined 2 daughter hives, and the resulting colony is doing well now, with brood in 2 boxes, despite the winter slowdown in nectar and pollen here. The colony seems very healthy and strong at this point.

It might be cheaper to buy low-cost packages and requeen them with BeeWeaver queens than to pay the prices for packages from BeeWeaver. The queens are 30 bucks in small lots.


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## Mr. C (Oct 27, 2011)

I got 4 packages a few years ago. I was pretty new at the time, but when they grew bigger they all got hot. Weird year for me though so I wouldn't read too much into it I guess. I had one abscond, one usurp another one, and one do well. Have a daughter hive or two off them, not as hot as the original, but still a bit ill-tempered. Customer service was great, but probably won't buy from there again soon. Others seemed to have great luck with them /shrug. I had better luck with swarms I picked up than packages and can't beat the price.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

That's a good idea Ray, except you need the package, and the queen, at the same time. Dealing with 2 different suppliers makes that prospect tenuous at best.

To the OP if you want weavers and it's just a hive or two, pay the extra bucks, long term it will probably be a good investment.


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## johng (Nov 24, 2009)

I had a friend buy two last year, the first two absconded, Bweaver sent two replacements quickly. The replacements grew into full hives nicely. But, they were so mean we had to requeen them before summer was over.


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## jim lyon (Feb 19, 2006)

Our family has bought queens and packages from the Weavers as early as the 1950's, I wont go into the family history as I know it but I believe they are in their 6th generation of beekeepers. We havent bought anything from them in quite a number of years, their stock has pretty much been the basis our own bees have evolved from. Actually they bought a semi load of bees back from us when they suffered severe losses in the early days of varroa. Their pricing has always been at the top of the market, certainly now more than ever. Good people, good bees but I will have to leave it to others to decide if the premium is worth the price. I wouldnt let concern for aggressiveness be a factor in your decision though. Lots and lots of bees are open mated every year in that part of Texas and I havent experienced or even heard of anyone getting particularly hot bees as a result.


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

I haven't bought any packages from them, but last year I got two queens. Wanted to try the "drop in the hive and forget the treatments" claims. I'd say they did average. Never really exploded in population, but gave a steady increase. Not the most productive colonies, but not the least either. Honey crop was about the same. I can say that I never treated them, and last mite check was high, but not higher than any other hive. 

When my dearth came (July 1) they got very pissy. I'd trim the grass around the hive with a weedwacker, and they did not like that AT ALL and let me know it. I had to suit up to cut the grass (never had to do that before, despite a few pops here and there). About a dozen or two dozen dive bombers would follow me and the weedwacker, after it was turned off, for about another 50 yards. It became a little too aggressive for me, so I contacted B-Weaver to ask about their "aggressive replacement" policy. They didn't ask any questions, and sent two replacements, and asked me not to trim the grass around the hives. Don't really think that last part is reasonable, but the first part was very helpful. I requeened, and they still seemed a little testy throughout the remainder of the season, but it's tough to tell if that was from the old workers or the new queen's genetics.

Time will tell on the temperament as well as the treatment free portion. But they survived from April on without treatments, which is better than most hives in my yard could boast. I ordered two more for next year. See how it goes.


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## gmcharlie (May 9, 2009)

Most bees get pissy in a dearth.......


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

I've purchased about a dozen queens from BeeWeaver in the last 15 months. I have four hives headed by daughters of Bee Weaver queens. They can be moody, but so am I. Neighbors have not complained. 

Had several supersedures within the first week -you can tell me what that means. My BeeWeaver queens are not any more aggressive than a typical hive we get from a cut out or swarm in my area. The daughter queens I'm getting with open mating are very productive and I'm pleased with them. 

BeeWeaver customer service is top drawer. Online ordering is easy. Coordination for the arrival of queens is excellent. 

My queens shut down over 100 F and slow down during a dearth...Both good things, I think.

HTH


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

gmcharlie said:


> Most bees get pissy in a dearth.......


When two hives get pissy when the 23 around them seem fine, I'd say it's more about those hives than the dearth itself.


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

We installed 3 packages from BeeWeaver this spring. One had a DOA queen 2 days later and was immediately replaced at no charge. 2 hives are doing great; the other has been a little slow but built up stores that were well proportioned to their small cluster. I've found them better tempered than most of the swarms I've picked up and regularly use BeeWeaver queens to requeen hot hives. I got about a dozen queens from them last season and have no complaints about aggressiveness /defensiveness. As I plan to do some early season splits, I won’t be buying packages but do plan to preorder 10 queens for next spring.

Their replacement policy on a defensive or poor laying queen is still no questions asked as far as I know. Customer service is over the top. Last year we had a beekeeping friend pass away, his family wanted the apiary removed and upon inspection, we found a good number of the hives with HOT feral queens. I called BeeWeaver, they sent their condolences and 6 free queens with an offer that if we needed more, just ask. They made a customer for life on that one. 
Last year there seemed to be a lot of problems with packages absconding and I did notice that the queens in their packages appear to only be offered as marked and clipped - I suspect as a response to reduce absconding complaints. They sell mated queens, marked and/or clipped, or neither. I’ve never seen any unmated queens for sale.

Locally I recommend their packages or nucs to people starting out.


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## julysun (Apr 25, 2012)

You could get on a few swarm removal lists, check *craigslist* and run an Ad there. Also, run an Ad in your local paper for FREE swarm removal (W/Some being not free, but inexpensive). You can most likely get all the inexpensive bees you want! opcorn:


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

I bought 10 queens. I thought that they should have been @ least taped together, they were bouncing around in the envelop. I did get them when they said I would. I have no complaints about their service. I put in well provisioned nucs early May. 7 accepted. took forever for them to get going. when they started laying- wall to wall brood, every cell. VERY HOT. I didn't dare go gloveless. I did not know that they would replace Hot queens. They were very lite on stores but good volume of bees when it was warm.I am only into my 5th year so I know really nothing. I would not do it again. Survivor stock that I have had for 3 years doing so much better. 1 queen never got past 1 frame of brood, all others did well as far as brood. The money I spent could have been better used. I don't feel that buying southern queens is something I will do again regardless of who sells them. BW seems to be a good outfit. I don't feel qualified to rate only my experience :-(


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## rhaldridge (Dec 17, 2012)

lakebilly, where did you get your survivor stock?


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

As many have noted, they are one of the best companies to do business with, and I have had their queens and offspring for 10 years. Customer service second to none.


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## lakebilly (Aug 3, 2009)

Multiple places, my mentor (buckfast) lots of swarms, I bought 32 hives near Pa. border most of these I lost last winter on edge of corn field. really hard to say. I split most my hives last year b/c of losses. @ the end of fall most looked good. I hope to get out soon & feed Lauri's recipe & her inner covers.


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I have posted several times recently on my experience with B Weaver Bees, including a season's worth of alcohol washes.

If you need a source for commercially produced treatment free bees - they {at least} answer their phone and send bees when they say they will. Some other producers of treatment free bees go silent and ignore orders submitted via their web sites.

I have no plans to buy more B Weavers but I'm certainly going to work with the stock I have - breed from them if I can.

I am convinced (in other words this is opinion, not proven fact) that much of their resistance to Varroa is due to Africanization. I don't think that is entirely bad but you've got to keep in mind there will most likely be other side effects. The obvious one I see is that the B Weaver bees are occasionally more testy than my other bees.

I have purchased both nucs and queens from B Weaver.


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## Paul McCarty (Mar 30, 2011)

Mr. Dewey - I would agree with you on the mite resistance of Beeweavers. All of the African hybrids I have ever seen are almost immune to mites it would appear, or at least have a strong resistance. Africanization is a strong term, and is tossed around a lot. In reality, it tends to be an over-generalization as it can be a very diverse set of influences - besides the Brazilian most are familiar with. It does have it's good points which are often overlooked. Beeweavers do indeed have some African elements in their make-up, even before the Brazilian influence, as they are descended from Buckfasts if I am not mistaken. 

I say if you live in Texas, get Texas bees. They are obviously proven. If they are too hot, requeen them. I have four hives of them that were given to me in a trade. I can vouch that they do not take a lot of care, and I really don't treat them other than syrup tainted with a little Spearmint oil. One of my hives is going like gangbusters, the others are pretty much average. None are particularly hot.

Overall, I prefer my own feral derived bees better, but Beeweavers seem ok. Not sure I would buy any if I had the chance, but they were good freebies. I personally do not believe in importing bees into a region they did not originate from and avoid it at all costs. Especially bees used primarily in migratory operations. I prefer my Longhorns to the white faced feedlot Herefords. I might get a few queens every few years to open mate their progeny with the local mountain bees, to keep the genes fresh, but I don't regularly buy bees from other regions.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

*Mid-Winter mite count of three BeeWeaver hives*

I performed a mite count today -72 hours after an oxalic acid treatment, using a Heilyser vaporizer, standard methodology and standard doses- on three hives headed by 2013 BeeWeaver queens. This Link goes to my drop box showing the hives and the tattle-tale boards which were on the bottom board for 72 hours after the treatment. 

You will have to agree there are not many dead mites given the severity of the treatment. There are drop counts and the different 'rolls', but this is the 'acid' test as far as I'm concerned. These hives are healthy. I do confess to treating them with one seven day dose of hopgaurd early in June. I do not see a need to treat these bees again in the foreseeable future.

Yes, I use smoke and wear a veil when I go down there to work the bees. four times of five I can go to stand five feet away with no head butts, but once in a while, mid to late summer, one will make a connection with me that we both regret. I dispatch that queen and replace it with one producing more calm daughters. 

After this test, I am confident in the quality of these treatment-free queens from BeeWeaver. BTW, the best hive there is headed not by a BeeWeaver queen, but a gentle, great granddaughter of one. Very pleased with the second and third generations produced in local matings -lots of feral bees in the neighborhood. 

Was unable to upload these pictures, sorry.


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

*Re: Mid-Winter mite count of three BeeWeaver hives*

> Was unable to upload these pictures, sorry.

This is just a comment about the likely reason why _Lburou _had issues uploading those photos.

Maximum file size for an image uploaded to the Beesource server is 194 Kb. The file size for IMG_1146.JPG (follow the link in the post above) is 2,884 Kb. 

This is relevant in light of a current thread touching on that topic here:
http://www.beesource.com/forums/sho...ture-posting-guidelines&p=1031828#post1031828


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

*Re: Mid-Winter mite count of three BeeWeaver hives*



Rader Sidetrack said:


> > Was unable to upload these pictures, sorry.
> 
> This is just a comment about the likely reason why _Lburou _had issues uploading those photos.
> 
> ...


Did you try the link Rader?


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## Rader Sidetrack (Nov 30, 2011)

*Re: Mid-Winter mite count of three BeeWeaver hives*

> Did you try the link Rader?

Yes, I did. The linked photos worked fine. :thumbsup::thumbsup: That is how I know the file size. 

My point was _not _to suggest they were somehow not appropriate to post. My point was to explain _why _they didn't load to the forum server, and provide a possible solution.

Also, this issue is relevant because as _Barry _said in the linked post, he is considering making changes to how photos may be displayed.


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## smccabe (Oct 8, 2013)

I started beekeeping with an italian package from RWeaver, in late april,which really thrived. I bought a nuc from my Brazoria club, it just poked along. I replaced the queen with a buckfast from R Weaver, iI think there was improvement before the fall slow-down. Good service.


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## scorpionmain (Apr 17, 2012)

Thanks for all the replies.
It's nice to see different view points on these bees.
I ordered 4 Queens for the upcoming spring & am excited to experience this strain for myself.


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

Note: BeeWeaver (BWeaver) and RWeaver are 2 different apiaries with different bees. I think that split happened about 2001. 

BeeWeaver are the varroa resistant hybrid queens and they only offer the "BeeWeaver queen." While Binford ("B") is there, Danny and Laura run it and they are no longer migratory, focusing instead on raising queens and a pack of boys.

RWeaver is a well respected apiary and is known for great customer service as well, I think they have 2 different conventional queens and while I hear nothing but good things about them, they are a completely different apiary.


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## ArtSmart (Sep 29, 2012)

> (BWeaver) and RWeaver are 2 different apiaries with different bees


I don't doubt that they are, but the traits of the bees seem to be the same. I had all my bees from RWeaver and they match many descriptions here. Most of them are somewhat hotter but, all in all, manageable. No problems with mites (while mites are present) and take very little attention.


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## Lburou (May 13, 2012)

ArtSmart said:


> I don't doubt that they are, but the traits of the bees seem to be the same. I had all my bees from RWeaver and they match many descriptions here. Most of them are somewhat hotter but, all in all, manageable. No problems with mites (while mites are present) and take very little attention.


And how did you come to that conclusion? The philosophical split in the family is not deniable. It is common knowledge that these bee producers have apiaries all over SouthEast Texas and maybe other places as well. I have visited one that was a hundred miles from Navasota, tx. I have bees from both Weavers in my apiary and I can tell you from personal experience there is a significant difference in mite load between the two, confirmed by mite drop after OAV last week at my house. Both good bees, yes. Both from the same stock at some point in the past, yes. Both from the same apiries today, emphatically no.


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

I've been using bweaver for a few years. My oldest is 5 yrs old and still going strong and is my best honey producer every year. I don't treat or do any type of mite counts on any of my hives. I got a few queens from bweaver 2 years ago and they are ok. Nothing to write home about. I like bweaver and will use them in the future, but I am trying some other queens this year.


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## ArtSmart (Sep 29, 2012)

> And how did you come to that conclusion?


 By observation. To be fair, I would have to say that not every queen that you buy is going to have the same traits. I had queens from them which produced hotter bees, and moderate bees, bees which seemed to be exhibiting more hygiene behavior than others bought at the same time. But altogether they fit the same general description above. None of my bees have been treated, and all of them are doing great. You experience however can be significantly different, not gonna argue with that.



> there is a significant difference in mite load between the two, confirmed by mite drop after OAV last week at my house


 Care to share? The only test you described was on three hives headed by 2013 BeeWeaver queens and I didn't see any numbers associated with you mite count. Can you also post the actual results for the RWeaver hives as well? Did you treat all your hives with Hopguard?


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