# North Pole, Alaska Beekeeper



## IanW (Oct 23, 2013)

Welcome Eric, fellow Alaskan beekeeper. It is indeed a real challenge, and even more so for you in North Pole than it is for us in South Central. Successful overwintering this far north is clearly a multifaceted issue, but the genetic makeup of the bees should I think be considered as part of the formula for success. Check out the Alaska Bee Initiative at the link below. The website is under development since ABI is very much in its formative stage, but keep checking in since I hope to keep the site updated as we progress. The initiative will be a collaborative approach with the ultimate goal of developing and encouraging increasingly sustainable beekeeping in Alaska. 

Hwyl
http://gwenyn2.wix.com/alaskabeeinitiative


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## IanW (Oct 23, 2013)

Welcome Eric, fellow Alaskan beekeeper. It is indeed a real challenge, and even more so for you in North Pole than it is for us in South Central. Successful overwintering this far north is clearly a multifaceted issue, but the genetic makeup of the bees should I think be considered as part of the formula for success. Check out the Alaska Bee Initiative at the link below. The website is under development since ABI is very much in its formative stage, but keep checking in since I hope to keep the site updated as we progress. The initiative will be a collaborative approach with the ultimate goal of developing and encouraging increasingly sustainable beekeeping in Alaska. 

Hwyl
http://gwenyn2.wix.com/alaskabeeinitiative


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Welcome Eric!


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## Mutt bee (Jan 11, 2015)

Welcome to BeeSource Eric !


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## Dominic (Jul 12, 2013)

Try to get bees as local as possible. If you can't find an Alaskan source for local bees, look at the Canadian market.

While many of these American "northern" beekeepers already started their seasons, our bees are still well under snow.  No above-freezing temperatures in sight, either. -24°C right now outside.


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## Shalva (Feb 10, 2015)

Welcome there is a lot to learn and some great folks here. I am in New Hampshire and like the above person from Quebec we are also still under many feet of snow (like 5) and its been averaging in the negative numbers without the wind. While we certainly aren't at your winter levels, being able to figure out the winter thing has been a challenge at best. I just ordered a book from the U. of Minn. called "Beekeeping in Northern Climates" I am hoping that will help me figure out what is best for the fall/winter. I will be interested in reading your progress as I am totally new as well with my bees arriving the beginning of May.


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## Max Morgan (Oct 22, 2013)

Hah! What a coincidence. My son lives in North Pole and is stationed at Ft. Wainwright. With -40 to -50 degree Winters, I've often wondered how one keeps bees alive.




CubeCove said:


> Hello Everyone! I live in North Pole, Alaska and this spring will be my second year of keeping bees. I am very excited about getting my girls in April! I was not able to keep my bees through this last winter, and would love to figure this out for our extremely long, cold winters.
> 
> Hoping for a great honey year!
> 
> Eric


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## GGTilton (Dec 6, 2014)

North Pole ???
Oh, no! You just ruined my childhood, that is unless you are Santa or and elf 
But, good luck with the bees.


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## Riskybizz (Mar 12, 2010)

Brrrrrrrrrrrr...welcome


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Trying to overwinter them in NP is pretty tough. The best results have been achieved by Steve Peterson off of Farmers Loop in Fairbanks just on the other side of the base from you. Check with him if you haven't already. 

Over wintered AK bees never do as well as fresh packages........ We have run up to 300 hives north of the range in past years. Overwintered ones are just not worth the expense and the hassle....


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Dominic said:


> Try to get bees as local as possible. If you can't find an Alaskan source for local bees, *look at the Canadian marke*t.
> 
> While many of these American "northern" beekeepers already started their seasons, our bees are still well under snow.  No above-freezing temperatures in sight, either. -24°C right now outside.


As long as the Maple leafs refuse to accept US bees you can expect the vise versa to be true which is the current case exluding the "bribe" queens heading north. 

How the world do you think a beek in NP AK is going to get Canadian bees into the US legally.... Bad advice on your part. Even if it was legal who in Canada has packages for sale in mid April when he needs them anyways? 

Canada's insane rules will not even allow a package of bees to be transported in a sealed truck from the lower 48 to AK through BC and the YT even though the guys from the prairies are catching US swarms on the BC border in all those winter yards... in Canada NAFTA stands for Not A Flying Thing Allowed.( from the US) 

Partially t:


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## AL from Georgia (Jul 14, 2014)

Welcome to the forum, that sounds like a mighty tough winter. Good luck!


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## Colino (May 28, 2013)

Honey-4-All said:


> As long as the Maple leafs refuse to accept US bees you can expect the vise versa to be true which is the current case exluding the "bribe" queens heading north.
> 
> How the world do you think a beek in NP AK is going to get Canadian bees into the US legally.... Bad advice on your part. Even if it was legal who in Canada has packages for sale in mid April when he needs them anyways?
> 
> ...


Honey-4-all:
You're not the only one frustrated with the border closure, I pay $179.00 for a 2lb package shipped from New Zealand. I'm 40 miles as the crow flies from Montana where I could buy Nucs cheaper than that. 
Colino


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## Hogback Honey (Oct 29, 2013)

Another member, AkDan, lives in North Pole. He visits the Chat room once in awhile.


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## CubeCove (Jan 6, 2015)

Hello everyone, and thank you for the warm welcome. I have met several local beekeepers and took a class last spring with Steve Peterson. I know there are several challenges with overwintering bees up here, but it is still worth trying. I figure that if it doesn't work, I will just order every spring, but if it does work, then I might be able to save a few $$.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

Welcome to BeeSource!


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