Nucs and Package Bees

The two most used techniques when it comes to spring repopulation of hives are probably those of:

• Bee nucs
• Packages bee

Each of these alternatives naturally has pros and cons, also depending on the availability of materials and the environment in which it will operate. It is up to you to decide which option best suits your needs, considering that you can also count on the advice of our experts.

For more than 20 years we have been dealing with the production and sale of high quality bee cores and packs, which are accompanied exclusively by buckfast or ligustica queens, both virgin and already fertile. Our excellent results and customer satisfaction derive from the use of state-of-the-art machinery and techniques for disease prevention. Furthermore, we never use antibiotics during the production process, as they are prohibited.

What are bee nucs?

The nucs are used as a basis for the creation of new colonies. Generally, when fully developed, they are composed of:

• 2 “food” honeycombs, therefore designed to contain honey and pollen
• 3 honeycombs intended to accommodate broods, usually of different ages
• a queen bee
• wooden frames
• worker bees, which must be able to cover the entire surface of the honeycombs

The honeycombs in particular are therefore sets of cells built by the bees themselves, in order to stock up on honey and pollen and to contain the larvae. All this allows the creation of new colonies, therefore by the hand of man, in order to increase the size of the swarm. Obviously, the higher the life expectancy of these bee cores, the greater their commercial value.

What are packages bee?

As for the sale of bee packs, we are talking about naked swarms, therefore without frames, artificially created. The most frequent sales format is the 1.5 kg one, which can contain about 15,000 young worker bees, plus a possible queen, but there is also a 1 kg one. Queen bees are always certified and can belong to the species:

• Ligustica
• Buckfast

We are therefore able to provide you with orphaned or queen workers in professionally created bee packs, through a finely optimized process and following specific steps, including:

• direct scrolling from supers
• use of a funnel for the passage of bees
• scale calibrated for the composition of the package

Our bee pack sale covers the period from March to June.

Packages and bee cores: delivery

Our company takes care of every detail in a maniacal way, allowing you to collect your bees both at our office and at a motorway exit. The packs are kept inside specific cold rooms and then placed in special structures that favor the exchange of air, so that the hymenoptera suffer a very low amount of stress. For the transport we use ventilated and refrigerated trucks, which allow to keep the bees vital and young, so that they are inserted in your hives in full force.

The swarms stay cool also thanks to the use of incredibly high-performance ax holders, made with insulating and resistant materials. After collection at the company, or delivery at the toll booth, we recommend that you keep the cores and packs of bees away from direct sunlight and away from drafts and too low temperatures.

Some useful tips in the pre- and post-sale of bee cores and packages bee

If you wish to purchase our products, the advice is to visit the company, in order to check the quality of the goods and to follow each stage of preparation and transport in person. We will show you how to provide for the proper ventilation of the cores and packs using proven methods, also teaching you how to cyclically spray light jets of water on the structures.

As regards the after-sales of the cores, remember that if you opt for a single station with crowded cores, for example due to lack of space, a stop of about 5 days is recommended. Moving the drawer is followed by the positioning of the hive that will receive the swarm. To do this you will have to transfer the honeycombs of the core making sure that the queen is placed in her new home and therefore does not remain on the walls risking being lost. Furthermore, the frames must maintain the starting order. The fan bees will then spread the smell of the Nasonof's gland, allowing them to attract foragers.

When you go to carry out the transfer we advise you to narrow the nest by adding 2 new waxy sheets, one on the right and one on the left. You can add others to these during subsequent checks.

In case of adverse weather conditions, feed the family yourself, using about 4 liters of syrup per week, until the weather report stabilizes.

Professionalism and passion at your service

By opting for the cores and packs of bees from our company, you can be sure of obtaining a product of extreme quality, with healthy and highly performing insects. We carry out each procedure in order to minimize stress for the bees and to prevent any diseases, such as pests and virosis.

Our team is always ready to answer your curiosities about types of cores, package organization, equipment, wax / honey supplies and characteristics of queen bees. You can ask questions live in the company or using online contact channels, such as our e-mail address.