You have chosen your hive. You have selected your site. You have budgeted, planned, and read until your eyes glazed over. You are ready.
Except you have no bees.
And here is the thing nobody tells you until it is too late: if you wait until you feel ready to order bees, you will miss the window. Suppliers sell out. By the time March rolls around and you think, "I should probably order those bees now," every nuc and package within two hundred miles is spoken for.
The bees must be ordered first — months before you are ready. Let me explain how, when, and from whom.
Most package and nuc suppliers begin taking orders in December or January for spring delivery (April or May, depending on your climate). Many sell out by February.
This seems absurd. You have not even assembled your hive yet. You have not painted it. You have not decided where to put it. And you are supposed to commit $150 for bees that will not arrive for four months?
Yes. Exactly that.
Think of it this way: ordering bees forces you to get ready. You have a deadline. The bees are coming whether you are prepared or not. This is motivating.
The beekeepers who dither, who wait until they have everything perfect, often find themselves with a beautiful empty hive and no bees to put in it. Do not be that beekeeper.
You have three main options: packages, nucleus colonies, or catching a swarm. Each has advantages and drawbacks.
A package is exactly what it sounds like: a screened box containing about three pounds of bees (roughly 10,000 workers) and a caged queen. No comb. No brood. No honey. Just bees and a queen, shaken from a donor hive and shipped to you.
Advantages: Relatively inexpensive ($100 to $150). Widely available. Easy to install (you pour the bees into your hive and release the queen).
Disadvantages: The bees start from scratch. They must draw all the comb, which takes time and energy. The queen is a stranger — the workers have never met her. Sometimes they reject her. Packages shipped long distances (more than 200 miles) arrive stressed, weakened, and prone to disease.
Best for: Budget-conscious beekeepers in areas where local packages are available. Avoid shipped packages if you can. The stress of transit shows.
A nuc is a small, functioning colony — typically five frames of bees, brood in various stages, a laying queen, and stored honey and pollen. It is a colony in miniature, already working.
Advantages: Head start. The comb is drawn. The brood is being raised. The queen is proven (she is already laying). Nucs build up faster than packages and are less likely to fail.
Disadvantages: More expensive ($150 to $200). Less widely available. You must pick them up (they are too fragile to ship). And you need to ensure the nuc frames fit your hive (most are standard Langstroth deep, but verify).
Best for: New beekeepers who can afford the extra cost and want a higher chance of success.
In late spring and early summer, colonies reproduce by swarming. Half the bees leave with the old queen to find a new home. Sometimes they cluster on a fence, a mailbox, or a low tree branch. If you are lucky — or prepared — you can capture them.
Advantages: Free bees. The thrill of capturing a swarm is unmatched. Swarms are gentle (they have no hive to defend and are full of honey).
Disadvantages: Unpredictable. You cannot plan around a swarm. They may not arrive. They may arrive at 6 AM when you are asleep. They may be twenty feet up a tree. And they may carry Varroa mites from the hive they left.
Best for: Experienced beekeepers or adventurous beginners with a backup plan (i.e., a package or nuc already ordered).
Do not buy bees from Craigslist, Facebook Marketplace, or some guy at a flea market unless you personally know and trust them. Bees from unknown sources may be diseased, aggressive, or poorly managed.
Instead:
Ask your local beekeeping club. Members will know which suppliers are reputable and which to avoid. They may even organize group orders, which can lower costs and simplify logistics.
Search for state or regional suppliers. Google "[your state] bee suppliers" or "[your state] package bees." Look for established businesses with websites, reviews, and a history.
Avoid long-distance shipping. Bees shipped cross-country arrive stressed and weakened. Prefer suppliers within 200 miles. If you must ship, choose a supplier with a good reputation for packaging and fast transit.
Ask about the bees' origin. Are they raised locally or shipped in from elsewhere? Local bees are better adapted to your climate. Southern bees shipped north may struggle with cold winters.
A good supplier will:
A bad supplier will be vague, unresponsive, or dismissive. If something feels off, find someone else.
I cannot overstate this: local bees are better.
Bees raised in Texas and shipped to Minnesota will struggle. They are adapted to long, mild winters and abundant late-season forage. Minnesota has neither. They may survive the first year. They probably will not survive the second.
Conversely, bees raised in your region — or better yet, your state — are already adapted. They know your forage. They know your winter. They have been selected (by nature and by the beekeeper who raised them) for survival in your conditions.
If you have to drive three hours to pick up local bees, do it. The drive is worth it.
Not all bees are the same. The three most common races in the US are:
Italian bees (Apis mellifera ligustica): Gentle, prolific, excellent honey producers. They keep large populations through winter, which means they consume more stores. Best for areas with long active seasons and abundant forage.
Carniolan bees (Apis mellifera carnica): Very gentle, good honey producers, excellent at adjusting population to forage availability. They build up quickly in spring and reduce numbers in fall, conserving stores. Good for colder climates.
Russian bees (Apis mellifera from the Primorsky region): Bred for mite resistance. More defensive than Italians or Carniolans but hardy and excellent for areas with Varroa pressure. Not ideal for urban settings.
For a beginner, Italians or Carniolans are the safest bet. Save the Russians for later, when you have experience.
The supplier will give you a pickup date and time. Be there. Packages and nucs are perishable. Do not leave them sitting in the sun.
For packages: Keep them in a cool, dark, quiet place (a garage, a basement) until you install them — ideally the same day, or the next morning at the latest. Spray them lightly with sugar water to keep them hydrated.
For nucs: Install them immediately. They are already a functioning colony and need to be in the hive.
Have everything ready before pickup day. Hive assembled, painted, positioned. Feeder filled. Smoker ready. Protective gear on hand. The bees will not wait for you to finish your preparations.
"The beekeeper who orders late gets no bees. The beekeeper who orders early gets first choice of genetics, delivery dates, and support. Order early."
— From The Prepared Beekeeper's Handbook