So, you have decided to save the planet? Bee keeping is a great start; however, ordering and buying honey bees for sale is actually the final step in a long process. There are materials, time, and effort spent before it is time to receive your new family of insects. Once you are ready, there are many options for finding your honey bees for sale. First, check with your local beekeeping association. Often, that is the easiest and least expensive option for supplying your new hive. Plus, it is a great idea to get acquainted with the local hive of individuals helping to pollinate the planet.
If you want to order online or by mail-order sites instead, there are plenty of places that have honey bees for sale to choose from. Some suppliers will ship the bees to you while others want you to physically pick them up at the company.
Honey Bees For Sale FAQ
1. What Are Honey Bees?
A honey bee is a flying insect known for construction of hives, wax, and honey. Many types of animals, such as the honey badger, bears, and humans, like to forage in their hives for the sweet honey they make. Honey bees represent only a very small percentage of the 20,000 species of bees on planet earth.
2. When Should You Order the Honey Bees for Sale?
Get ready for the first spring flush of flowers and order your bees in the winter. This is best time for a few reasons. Firstly, the sites sometimes sell out in the spring. Secondly, the bees will ship to you at the correct time. If you buy early, your honey bees should ship to you in March through May.
3. Where Can You Find Honey Bees for Sale?
The first question you must consider on your journey to buy bees is whether you want to shop locally or digitally. The survival rate of your new little bee family is more than closely connected to the climate. Purchasing your bees locally gives them the advantage of already being acclimatized. This single factor gives you the best chance at keeping your new friends alive throughout the seasonal changes.
However, not everyone has a local beekeeping buddy from whom to get a few nucs. If you must purchase online, then first look for a company that is located in a similar climate to your own. In short, if you are in a cold weather region, then do not buy from a hot climate. Shop as close to home as possible.
5. What Is A Nuc / A Package?
Less than a full hive, a "nuc" is a nucleus colony of honey bees that smaller in size. Bee house companies usually offer two bee options: nucs and packages. Nucs are already established colonies and come ready to use. Usually, with three frames of comb already filled. It is easy to add these frames to your new hive and allow the bees to orient themselves.
When you buy a package of bees, it has no comb included. Packages are a cluster of worker bees that includes a caged queen, creating an unnaturally sustained swarm. Not to worry, as soon as you install your new bee package into your new hive, the bees will know what to do. They will begin to build a comb and make themselves right at home. For the most part, beekeepers favor buying nucs due to the time constraints on bees. The nucs are a few weeks ahead of packages developmentally.
How We Reviewed
The honey bees for sale were reviewed based on features, delivery expectations, and where to buy.
Overall Price Range of Honey Bees for Sale (and Similar Products)
The overall price range is between $100 and $300. Bees are not a cheap pet to have it turns out. However, if you are dead set on saving the planet, then there are some great deals on honey bees for sale on this list that may save you a few bucks and time spent searching.
What We Reviewed
BB Honey Farm Bees
Summary
BB Honey Farm has been around since 1975. Located in Houston, Minnesota, the owners opened with the goal to keep bees alive within the 200-mile radius from their operation. Now, they serve a much wider community of beekeepers in an ever-expanding business.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on the supplier’s website for $140 for a 3 pound package.
Where to Buy
Bee Weaver Honey Bees
Summary
Over 130 years of experience under their beekeeping belt, this company sure knows what they are doing. The honey bees for sale through this company are a special mite-resistant breed. They are located in the American southwest, giving their bees new homes all the time. These honey bees for sale are great for hot and arid climates near this company's home base.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on the company’s website for $230 for a 3 pound package.
Where to Buy
Mountain Sweet Honey Bees
Summary
Located with pickup sites throughout Georgia, these bees would be happy anywhere nearby. This business grew out of a hobby for this beekeeping team and now they sell to a huge market.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on company’s website for $110 for 3 pounds of bees.
Where to Buy
Rossman Apiaries Honey Bees
Summary
A beekeeping tradition that started in the 1930s, you can trust your beekeeping needs with this group of hives. The company has lots of insurance and warranty options for all the bees you could hope for. They sell reasonably priced queens as well as packages.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on the company’s website for $25 for 1 queen.
Where to Buy
Draper's Super Bee Apiaries Honey Bees
Summary
Located near New York state, these beekeepers have been in operation since the 1970s. They have a ton of supplies from honey bees for sale to bee hive supplies. With next day shipping and cheap shipping options, this is a great deal for anyone within their region.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on the company’s website for $130 for a 3 pound package.
Where to Buy
HoneyBeesOnline.com Bees
Summary
You can generate a lot of traffic, if you’ve secured “honeybeesonline.com” for yourself. The high demand makes itself evident in this brand. That is to say they sell out fast. So if you’ve found what they’ve got to offer to be the best on this list, make sure you mark your calendars for when their sale begins. It would be terrible not to get the bees you desire for your nuc.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
You can purchase a 3 Pound Package of Bees with a Mated Queen for around $130.
Where to Buy
Kelley Beekeeping Honey Bees
Summary
With a vast online catalog of beekeeping procuts, Kelley beekeeping offers both old school knowhow and new school internet accessibility. Kelley’s storefront is located at 807 W. Main Street in Clarkson, Kentucky. If you don’t happen to be in bluegrass country, howver, you can still receive their equipment online. Kelley has been helping beekeepers keep bees since 1924. Check out their blog if you need good illustrated tips and tricks for steps along the honey-harvesting process.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
Kelley’s 5-Frame Nuc with Marked Italian Queen can be found online for around $200.
Where to Buy
Texas Bee Supply Honey Bees
Summary
Everything’s bigger in Texas, they say. While that might be terrifying if it applied to the bees themselves, at least the amounts of bees offered by Texas Bee Supply is larger than those in your average state. One of the great things about Texas Bee Supply is that they have a physical store. You can buy their products online easily, which is a huge plus, but you can also go into one of their several physical spaces if you need to examine the products in the person.
A very interesting feature that Texas Bee Supply offers is the ability to have your queen marked with a green dot. This makes it exponentially easier to pick her out of the crowd of bees. This service only costs an additional $25.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
A nuc of bees can be purchased from Texas Bee Supply online for around $220.
Where to Buy
Lappe's Bee Supply & Honey Farm Honey Bees
Summary
Lappe’s site provides many useful tidbits of beekeeping information. We found this site to be especially useful when attempting to answer beginner questions about the process of keeping bees. Lappe will get you educated and supplied in a one stop shop. “Helping Beekeepers Around the World” is Lappe’s motto, and the reviews speak to just how well they’ve earned this title.
We thought that Lappe did an excellent job outlining the information that you will need going forth on your beekeeping adventure. Parts of the website certainly read as outdated (in terms of aesthetics) but don’t let the “geocities” look of the site turn you away from its valuable information.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found online for between $95 - $125 for a 2 lb package, or between $120 - $150 for a 3 pound package.
Where to Buy
Gold Star Honeybees
Summary
Gold Star certainly lives up to its name. You’ll see for yourself when you buy these bees in a package. That’s right, these bees come in package. There are many reasons a beekeeper wouldn’t necessarily want their bees in a nuc. For example, they don’t fit in every apiary setup.
What Is Offered & Delivery Expectations
Prices
This product can be found on online for around $190 for three pounds of bees.
Where to Buy
The Verdict
The best honey bees for sale will depend on the region of the buyer, but if we were to pick one, then it would be the Draper's Super Bee Apiaries Honey Bees. Should you happen to live in their region, then use their services. Obviously, if you are not in their region, then look to other options on our list to discover the best regional option.
We love the Draper's Super Bee Apiaries Honey Bees for sale because of the downright good deal nature to the whole business. They have cheap shipping, insurance options, and good bees for the region.
