Berkey Bee Honey Farm

We had a good survival rate over the 2008 - 2009 year.  Therefore I am offering Queens and nucs for sale.  These are for pick up only at the Honey Farm near Berkey, Ohio.

I will have queens and nucs ready by May 20th if the weather cooperates and the queens are able to take successful mating flights.

The first batch of queens are grafted from survival stock, untreated.  The second batch of queens will be available in late June or early July.  These queens will be grafted from a Glenn Apiaries VSH Breeder Queen.  VSH Queens have Varroa Sensitive Hygiene, which means they have the ability to uncap brood with mites.

The queens will all be open mated in our yards, which will give them a diverse exposure to a wide range of survivor bees, including Carniolan, Russian, and Italian.  Good old survivor Mutt bees!

We have now gone for 2 years with no treatments whatsoever.  The 3 years before that the only treatments were Oaxilic Acid.

I am convinced that the key to survival in this locale is to requeen any hive where the queen is more than 2 years old.  The young queens need to start the buildup by early July to have a chance if they are starting out a nuc.  But if you are requeening you can do it safely anytime after the flow.

If you want some queens or nucs email me: dn4911 at yahoo.com.  I need to know how many queens you need so I will know how many cells to graft.

Honey Bees naturally swarm, usually in the Spring or early Summer.  It is a natural method of reproduction.  There is no need to be alarmed by a honey bee swarm.

The swarm cluster can be as small as a softball or as big as a basketball.  Honeybees seldom sting when they are swarming.  They are too busy looking for a nice place to set up housekeeping.

A honey bee swarm is a unique occurrence in nature.  If you have a swarm in a tree or bush in your yard you may want to call a local beekeeper.  He or she will come and shake the swarm into a box and then place that swarm into a new hive.  Once the queen bee goes into the box the rest of the bees will follow.  It is fascinating to watch as the worker bees blow the queen's pheromones towards the rest of the bees so they will all come into the new home.

Many Beekeepers will gladly come and remove a swarm for a small fee, especially if it is a large swarm early in the season and if the swarm is not too high or inaccessible. 

A swarm in May is worth a load of hay.
A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon.
A swarm in July is a poke in the eye.
    Old proverb