Local Bee supplier

[Meech]

I've been looking on the internet for local Nuc, Bee, and Queen suppliers, and have not found any. Can someone please direct me to any local suppliers?

[Matt Gaillardetz]

We have a list of suppliers on our website. You can check in with the members listed. Keep in mind that most spring nucs were committed several months ago. Some producers will have a wait list that might bring you luck as their colonies build over the next 6-8 weeks.

http://www.loudounbee.org/products-and-services/buy-nucs-and-queens.html/

[Donna and Mike Kropotkin]

As if yesterday, BONS Beekeepers of Northern Shenandoah had about 12 packages available. Here's their website: 

http://www.valleybees.online/

Another possibility is https://www.eversweetapiaries.com/ for packages. They also seem to get queen shipments frequently through the warm months.

[Bret Fisher]

The Loudoun Beekeepers Association maintains a roster of local beekeepers who provide queens and nucs. 

http://www.loudounbee.org/products-and-services/buy-nucs-and-queens.html/

You can also try the Prince William Regional Beekeepers Association: http://www.loudounbee.org/products-and-services/buy-nucs-and-queens.html/ (PWRBeekeepers@gmail.com)

Or the Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association:
http://www.novabees.org/Nucs-Queens-&-Packages

Please keep in mind that if you want true local (to Northern Virginia) honey bees, you are looking for queens that have successfully overwintered in our region. If you buy a nuc from a local beekeeper that is led by a queen shipped in from Georgia, California, Hawaii or anywhere else, that is not a "local" honey bee colony. Those queens may do well in our area, but they should not be considered "local queens." 

Under natural conditions, a honey bee queen mates with drones from the area in which she is born. So, when I sell queens, they are queens that I have raised from my own apiary and that have mated with local drones. I have no control over where those drones come from. They could be drones produced by package bees from Georgia, or from local feral bees in the 6,000 acres surrounding my apiary. That's why successful mating flights include mating with as many drones as possible (12-20 or more), to increase genetic diversity and to (hopefully) preclude the queen from filling her spermatheca with the spermatozoa from inferior stock. 

Good luck in your search. Just be sure to ask the right questions so you get what you are looking for. 

Edited April 23, 2019 by Bret Fisher