# Decisions



## Arnie (Jan 30, 2014)

You can't do both?

Personally, I would prefer good feral stock. But if he trapped them recently you really don't know how good they are. How recently? They could be excessively prone to swarming, maybe not great honey producers, etc. 

Also, what are the cancellation policies of the company you ordered from? They may be able to sell those nucs to someone else. 

Good luck, whatever you decide.


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## kaizen (Mar 20, 2015)

I don't think the nuc supplier will care if you cancel your order however if these are your first two hives AND you can't get all 4 i'd stick with the nuc that you know the heritage of the bees.


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

If at all possible get all of them being able to compare the bees to one another if a valuable thing to have.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

I can't do all four. The new colonies were captured sometime last year and haven't been given a permanent home.

I don't know what the cancellation policy is, yet. I thought I'd go out and look at the individual's apiary and meet him in person before I call to find out about the cancellation policy. If they don't allow cancellations, then my choice has been made for me. 

I think I'm trying to decide between locals and known heritage, which is why I'm asking here. Thank you both for your input.

FWIW, he has 50 top bar hives, most of which have come from swarms he has caught or colonies he has removed from other people's houses.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

I could do one of each ...

Four hives would be a bit much for my little 1/2 acre homestead.


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## gwenceles (Jan 29, 2016)

Is 3 an option?


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## Dan the bee guy (Jun 18, 2015)

Wandering Man said:


> I could do one of each ...
> 
> Four hives would be a bit much for my little 1/2 acre homestead.


Is there someone you know that would take the other two?


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## mgstei1 (Jan 11, 2014)

Stay local if at all possible. He sounds to me like a good mentor who can help you if issues come up, and they for sure will,from time to time. Being local also is a gift to succeed.
Be sure which ever route you decide, to go into each nuc and have them show you how good a colony they are. Dont buy blind by not doing an inspection. You can see the laying pattern of the queen and also the "strength" can be determined by the amount of bees.
Ask questions no matter how simple they are and start your learning process. 
Ask each about mite treatments, condition of nucs, and the aggression behaviour of each nuc.


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## LKBruns (Jul 12, 2014)

I'm from Yoakum, Texas. Last year was my first year with bees. I did manage to catch a swarm last May. That swarm has gotten more aggressive as it has grown.

That being said - if you get in a bind I might could help you with one of the feral hives.


LB


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## ruthiesbees (Aug 27, 2013)

Wandering Man said:


> I could do one of each ...
> 
> Four hives would be a bit much for my little 1/2 acre homestead.


I have 4 large TBH's and 7 nucs on my 1/3 acre in the suburbs. You should you can't do all 4 on your plot? (forage may be your limiting factor. my neighborhood has lots of landscape plants and there are spots of hardwood trees nearby)


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## mgstei1 (Jan 11, 2014)

LKBruns said:


> I'm from Yoakum, Texas. Last year was my first year with bees. I did manage to catch a swarm last May. That swarm has gotten more aggressive as it has grown.
> 
> That being said - if you get in a bind I might could help you with one of the feral hives.
> 
> ...


We are all in an area that have aggressive bees(Texas). 50 years ago I hardly ever wore a veil or gloves working colonies. Now, I UltraBreeze protect myself just to sit down and watch them on a stool. All my grandkids are smart learners and I have veils and gloves for them when they want to watch an ol man.
I have 1 especially hostile colony now that Im fixing to annilate as I sure dont want momas drones mixing with any other beeks bees much less my own before.


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## fieldsofnaturalhoney (Feb 29, 2012)

Wandering Man; said:


> So, I'd like to hear which direction you folks would go. Is it better to start off with local feral (gentle) bees of unknown origin, or to start off with a Nuc from a major bee apiary?
> Thanks


 I think it all depends on what your goals of management/keeping the bees are. Don't burn any bridges, and ask the important questions, as Mgstei1 pointed out. What do you know about the bees from the major bee apiary?


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

mgstei1 said:


> Stay local if at all possible. He sounds to me like a good mentor who can help you if issues come up, and they for sure will,from time to time. Being local also is a gift to succeed.


Thank you for that. You are correct, having a local mentor IS a gift.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

LKBruns said:


> I'm from Yoakum, Texas. Last year was my first year with bees. I did manage to catch a swarm last May. That swarm has gotten more aggressive as it has grown.
> 
> That being said - if you get in a bind I might could help you with one of the feral hives.
> 
> ...


Thank you. It is good to know who is in the area.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

ruthiesbees said:


> I have 4 large TBH's and 7 nucs on my 1/3 acre in the suburbs. You should you can't do all 4 on your plot? (forage may be your limiting factor. my neighborhood has lots of landscape plants and there are spots of hardwood trees nearby)


And the local beek tells me he has 15 Top Bar hives in his backyard, in the city!

Still, I want to enter the hobby slowly. It took a while to convince the wife we should start with two, rather than one.


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## Wandering Man (Jan 15, 2016)

fieldsofnaturalhoney said:


> I think it all depends on what your goals of management/keeping the bees are. Don't burn any bridges, and ask the important questions, as Mgstei1 pointed out. What do you know about the bees from the major bee apiary?


The apiary is one of the Weaver brothers. I bought my first three queens from them back in the 80's when I was playing at beekeeping for a while. I haven't kept up with them, but assume all of the Weavers continue to run a sound business.


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## Oldtimer (Jul 4, 2010)

It's all about your goals and how you intend to run the hives.

For example, commercial beekeepers for the most part forego local bees in favour of high producing bees and they do just fine. But it's about how they run them, they do have to know how to run them.

If you want a more leave it alone bee, that may or may not be productive, the local bees might give you that. But you don't know cos end of day you do not know where the swarms he is selling you originated.

So what is your beekeeping style? You want to be treatment free? If so you will have to buy bees that the vendor thinks are treatment free. If you are OK with treating your bees for mites, you'll be fine with a commercial bee. Depending which Weaver brother you are getting your bees from they may be treatment free and every bit as good as any local bee you could get. Check out the web site and see if they claim treatment free. If it's that Weaver, I'd get those and forego the local bees.


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## mgstei1 (Jan 11, 2014)

Wandering Man said:


> The apiary is one of the Weaver brothers. I bought my first three queens from them back in the 80's when I was playing at beekeeping for a while. I haven't kept up with them, but assume all of the Weavers continue to run a sound business.


Ive bought from them also through the years. With great success. But strive to manage your own and make increases when its possible and not depend on bought queens or cells and packages. Stay local and fine tune your management abilities. Handle the mites and handle the SHB and handle swarming. You do that and your beekeeping experience will be an enjoyment for years to come.
Attend a local Bee Association group and join the TBA. Lots of help to be had, and remember, we are all in this together.


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## Colobee (May 15, 2014)

Wandering Man said:


> The apiary is one of the Weaver brothers.... assume all of the Weavers continue to run a sound business.


In my experience yes. 'Not surprising from a 4th & 5th generation bunch.

Check your PM's for more detail.


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## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

In our neck of the woods, feral bees will get aggressive. We all know why. I am only offering information. Here in South Texas it is a fact unless the swarm was captured close to a large apiary. We just need to be prepared to manage them until you have to "test" the queen. Out of 5 swarms last year, I have 1 feral queen left. My .02


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## Jecsd1 (May 20, 2014)

I'm not sure which Weaver Apiary you're referring to but I have 6 hives (all headed by BeeWeaver queens) they have been fine bees so far.

They are defensive but not aggressive. So far they are living up to their claim. Going on my third year, haven't lost a hive yet and haven't treated yet.

Of course, that could change tomorrow...and as always YMMV


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## ChuckReburn (Dec 17, 2013)

Wandering Man said:


> The apiary is one of the Weaver brothers. I bought my first three queens from them back in the 80's when I was playing at beekeeping for a while. I haven't kept up with them, but assume all of the Weavers continue to run a sound business.


Distant cousins with distinctly different businesses and business models.




Oldtimer said:


> It's all about your goals and how you intend to run the hives.
> 
> For example, commercial beekeepers for the most part forego local bees in favour of high producing bees and they do just fine. But it's about how they run them, they do have to know how to run them.
> 
> ...


They are the source we use for requeening mean feral bees and other queens with issues (Swarms are typically an older queen and if not superseded, may have problems the following winter).


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