# BeeWeaver is now accepting orders for package bees, April 2013



## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

http://www.beeweaver.com/beeweaverbuzz/buy_beeweaver/packages


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Smart folks will get their package and queen orders in by Dec. 1, whoever they decide to buy from. opcorn:


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## Hambone (Mar 17, 2008)

This was in a email flyer I got from beeweaver yesterday.

"BeeWeaver Queens, Package Bees, Nucs, and Full Strength Italian Colonies delivered to our pick up locations in Navasota, Austin, Dallas, & San Antonio in April 2013."

Picking up in Dallas with no freight charge will be awesome.


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## LeonardS (Mar 13, 2012)

Wow, those are expensive bees! I purchase 3 lbs and a queen for $75 here in Iowa.


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## AstroBee (Jan 3, 2003)

$135 a package???? Man, I must be getting old!!


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## NorthernIllinoisPlumber (Aug 17, 2010)

It is cheaper if you just buy the Mini Bee packs...in bulk:lookout:


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## westernbeekeeper (May 2, 2012)

A 3# package with queen costs anywhere from $90 to $110 here in WY.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

LeonardS said:


> Wow, those are expensive bees! I purchase 3 lbs and a queen for $75 here in Iowa.


Pricy, yes. But they are 1.5 hr. drive from me and they have been breeding for a long time to be chemical free for varroa and they seem to keep the SHB under good control too. Down here in the South we have extended season issues with these pests. They do have some interesting videos on YouTube talking about their genitics.


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## SRBrooks (Jun 24, 2012)

I agree with MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMooretx. I really believe in their stock, and plan to install two more hives in April with BeeWeavers. Great temperament. They turned out to be a perfect choice for me, a beginner, and I plan to keep them treatment-free. The BeeWeaver hive I presently have is spooky-strong.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

2 June – New NUC from BeeWeaver put into 10 frame Lang. no queen seen
9 June – Re-queened with free queen from BeeWeaver, seen one week later, never again, assume my bad.
25 June - Bought another NUC w/ queen and joined two colonies via newspaper method (2 deep boxes)
23 August - Took 4 frames of brood and two frames of honey to make 2 new NUCS (split)
25 August - Discovered that I took the queen from the donor hive to hive 2, but the new queen was still in her cage and safe. Returned old queen to original cranky hive (no queen for 2 days).
2 Sept. - Moved new hives from NUCs to 10 frame Langs. Donor hive peaceful again.
3 Sept. - Added 1 more frame of brood to hive 2 since most of the bees migrated back to the donor hive 1 
6 Oct. - Hive 2 still weak but added second deep to both hive 2 & 3
20 Oct. - Hive 1 only has 2 empty sides in upper deep, no comb build in super, queen sighted in upper on frame 9 that is foundationless (not bad after pulling 7 frames). Hive 3 has 8 frames mostly filled out in lower deep (checker boarded plasticell & foundationless) and two frames built out in upper brood chamber. Hive 2 has 7 frames built out in lower and none in upper. Goldenrod flow is on and hive 1 is not taking any syrup (1:1 with Honey Bee Health and Amino B Boster). All hives are bringing in LOTS of pollen. Hive 3 is taking about 2 qts. of syrup a day and Hive 2 is taking about half of that.

Well that is my newbee story, but the bees are doing well despite my errors and should make it through our winter in Houston. Yes the BeeWeaver bees are expensive, but I am well pleased with their genetics and gentleness. Yes I have been stung, 4 times on the worse day but it was a stupid mistake on my part. No gloves and I got stung in 2 finger tips at the same time picking up a frame wrong, yes I dropped it, hence the other two stings. Now much better. Yes I recommend them. Laura Weaver is absolutely wonderful and a great help. I hope to meet her someday.

Anyway that is my story


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

Remember, the B. Weaver bees are mite treatment free - you never have to treat for mites, and I've not even done mite counts on my B. Weaver bees in six years. This year a two year old hive headed by a B. Weaver queen produced 170 pounds of surplus honey, here in Southeast Missouri. fwiw
Regards,
Steven


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

StevenG said:


> Remember, the B. Weaver bees are mite treatment free - you never have to treat for mites, and I've not even done mite counts on my B. Weaver bees in six years. This year a two year old hive headed by a B. Weaver queen produced 170 pounds of surplus honey, here in Southeast Missouri. fwiw
> Regards,
> Steven


OUTSTANDING! I am looking forward to my first harvest next year with my 3 BeeWeaver hives (assuming my weak one makes it through the Winter). I am happy enough that I am ordering two package bee sets for myself and one for a friend on 25 Oct. I am still arguing with myself over whether they will be standard 10 frame (2 deeps) or 8 frame, all mediums. My decision timeline is when my tax return is in my account, usually mid Feb. Still researching and using the search function here.....
Thanks for the input!


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## Specialkayme (Sep 4, 2005)

StevenG said:


> B. Weaver bees are mite treatment free - you never have to treat for mites, and I've not even done mite counts on my B. Weaver bees in six years.


I'm glad you've had success with their genetics Steven. Did you purchase it as a package, a nuc, or as a queen that you installed on a hive of other genetics? In the six years you've had the B. Weaver genetics, have you requeened the hives with more queens purchased from B. Weaver, or did you let them requeen themselves?

I know others that have purchased bees from B. Weaver and have not been as successful in maintaining a treatment free environment. The same can be said for FatBeeMan's bees. I don't know why, but it appears that B. Weaver may have hit a sweet spot either in their location, their genetics, their management practices, or all of the above. But I think if you are expecting to drop their package in your box and all your mite problems will be solved, you may find yourself disappointed.


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## StevenG (Mar 27, 2009)

mmmooretx, re: 8 frame, figure on 3-4 boxes just for the brood nest, and tower up from them with extracting supers. I quit 8 frame mediums and returned to 10-frame equipment because of the unstable nature of the 8-frame when it got six feet high. 

specialkayme, to answer your questions - Yes. 
I started off with two packages, made splits. I would do both walk-away splits, and introduce a B. Weaver queen, depending on my mood and what I wanted to accomplish. Also how much $$ I had. I've requeened other genetics with B. Weaver queens (when I caught swarms from places away from my apiaries, for example, second year I'd requeen with B. Weaver). I'm sure some of my colonies have requeened themselves.

I've also used Purvis queens, and plan to get some more of those, now that they're back in business. Had no luck with MnHyg, R. Russell, or Russians. And occasionally I get a dud with B. Weaver. In apiculture, nothing is perfect after all.

B. Weaver _says_ if you have mites, simply requeen with one of their queens, and your problems will go away as her progeny take over the hive. I assume it works, as I've never treated or mites, or lost a hive to mites.
Hope this helps,
Regards,
Steven


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## weldingfreak6010 (Sep 11, 2012)

where is you get your bees i will need some for the next spring


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## bhfury (Nov 25, 2008)

I've gotten hives with their queens and know 3 other beeks who have gotten queens from them and haven't seen gentle hive yet. Everyone I know has requeened with something else. They make good guard hives though and will keep intruders out


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

I will stick with BeeWeaver as I find their bees quite gentle and very productive. They will remain my sole provider.


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

I ordered 8 packages from BeeWeaver in May 2012 as part of a treatment free experiment. I would describe them as feisty on occasion but most of the time no different from my other bees. The experiment continues with seven colonies going into this winter. In a nutshell, I want to see if bees not treated for Varroa or other pests and/or diseases will survive and make a decent honey crop in my location.


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Andrew Dewey said:


> I ordered 8 packages from BeeWeaver in May 2012 as part of a treatment free experiment. I would describe them as feisty on occasion but most of the time no different from my other bees. The experiment continues with seven colonies going into this winter. In a nutshell, I want to see if bees not treated for Varroa or other pests and/or diseases will survive and make a decent honey crop in my location.


I would like to hear how it turns out, and best of luck!


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

Hi Andrew...I am new this year with one hive and lost all my bee's in september (did harvest some honey)...I ordered a package from Weaver of Buckfast; what kind did you order from them? I think I will order another package for 2013. I live in the Catskills NY so our weather might be similar....Deb


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## mmmooretx (Jun 4, 2012)

Cloverdale said:


> Hi Andrew...I am new this year with one hive and lost all my bee's in september (did harvest some honey)...I ordered a package from Weaver of Buckfast; what kind did you order from them? I think I will order another package for 2013. I live in the Catskills NY so our weather might be similar....Deb


If they are Buckfest they are more than likely R Weaver bees. B. Weaver bees are hybrid Italian. Apparently there was a family split, reason unknown. Both have apiaries in Navisota TX, and B. Weaver also has apiaries in Austin TX (main office). Laura Weaver has written me that their bees have done well in the Northern states too. The R Weaver bees will probably do well too, but I do not know what they are breeding for there.
Best of luck!


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

Andrew keep us posted on the experiment. How did you loose one of the hives? When you say they were fiesty, did you mean while they were being inspected, or otherwise. Thanks Steve


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## Mtedcarr4 (May 20, 2010)

I have had good performance out of the queens i got from them. Yes they are expensive too . While the hive is gone (bees are not fireproof) I can & will say they are good bees . there bees are a combination of there previous lines .,All American (Italian) ,Buckfast , SMaRt line (SMR)


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

Tried to delete post but it wouldnt let me.


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## mcwalsh (Nov 12, 2012)

We bought a nuc from BeeWeaver last year that failed miserably. Came with mature SHB in it - possibly infested with larvae too. That said, the nuc never really got off the ground properly because we had the driest summer ever here in TX in 2011.

This year we got one from BeeWeaver (have to like local sources for live animals, eh?) and one from CF Koehnen & Sons in CA. BeeWeaver had a fair few drones in the package. CF Koehnen had sent the bees through some kind of sorter, so we only had worker girls. 

The BeeWeaver bees are A LOT more testy than the CA bees. The CA bees were a little slower to fill out the frames and didn't end up swarming. They are also a lot lighter in color and MUCH more gentle all around. But they bearded up the outside of the hive all summer long in the heat whereas the BeeWeaver hives seemed more resistant. Also note that those Bee Weaver bees swarmed because they'd gone crazy and totally filled in the hives much faster than we'd realized. 

Laura Weaver is one of BeeWeaver's best assets -- really came through for us in a pinch when we had that swarm event and needed to requeen! SO, customer service is great. 

We'll see how winters go for the various genetics . . .


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## Andrew Dewey (Aug 23, 2005)

sfisher said:


> How did you loose one of the hives? When you say they were fiesty, did you mean while they were being inspected, or otherwise. Thanks Steve


Laying worker or drone layer discovered late in the season and with too small a worker population to requeen. As for "fiesty" - that characteristic shows on occasion when inspecting, but is hard to predict. I warned our state inspector that he might want to use gloves and the bees were great (and I felt like a paranoid fool.)


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## Cloverdale (Mar 26, 2012)

:>)


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

Andrew could you pm me your state inspector's email address, if you have it? Thanks Steve


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