NEWBIE

[Jimbold]

Well,first time for everything. I just order a bunch of "stuff" from Kelley's after reading "How to Keep Bees & Sell (??) Honey by Walter. Ordered enough to set up two hives with two supers, along with a few necessaries thrown in. The stuff should be here by the end of the week and then it'll take another week to get it all assembled and ready for use.
Question now is: In Texas, it's pretty late to get started with the Bees. I still want to at the very least, get the hives established (not looking for production this year). Does that make sense to you folks?
Second, I'm not having much luck in find an outfit that is still shipping to Texas. The two I found are out-of-stock....... I'm in the D/FW area and would like to get Italian or maybe Caucasian(if they do well in this area) Any ideas out there??

[Clayton]

Hi,

You could try York if you want caucasians or even italians. You better move quick as bees will be sold very quickly this year, most place will be sold out soon if not already. Wilbanks does alot of packages too and they might not yet be sold out if italians are your preferance.

[ranwithrsd]

just a quick fyi:
I called york last year and again this year just to check; they are not doing caucasians anymore (at least that's what i was told); the lady on the phone told me that their website has not been updated for quite a while...

[Michael Bush]

Don't know if they are sold out but B. Weaver and R. Weaver are both in Texas.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

If Dadant in Paris Tx. (1.877.632.3268) can't help you, then I suggest that you find a local beekeeper in your area and buy nuc's. Call the county extension office for a list of beekeepers who chase swarms. Other places to call include, animal protection, dog pound, environmental protection, and 911.

A nuc will build up faster and may even put away enough stores to get through the winter without having to feed them this fall.

Do be prepared, (buy feeders), to feed them through the drought that will happen in July through September in your area.

[BULLSEYE BILL]

By the way, Dadant is MUCH less expensive than Kellys. You will find that shipping is the real killer when it comes to buying supplies. Buy local whenever possible.

Check out the suppliers list on Beesource.com Go to the bottom of this page and click on the beesource.com link and on the left hand side you will find the menu, click Bees and Supplies and go from there.

[Clayton]

Thanks for the info its getting tough to find good caucasian bees.

[dragonfly]

It's not too late to get started with bees in Texas. I acquired my very first hive in the month of June of '02, and they did just fine, and are still going strong. If you can't find package bees anywhere, and are interested in a swarm, I have a friend in the Keller area who is a beekeeper, and she often retreives swarms and will sell them. There's also an older man in Weatherford who occasionally sells bees, and a beekeeper in the Burleson area who sells bees. There's also a beekeeper's association in the DFW area that appears to have a pretty strong membership, but I don't join clubs or associations, so I have no experience with them besides what I have heard. If you need contact phone numbers (if you can't find bee suppliers), let me know and I'll email them to you.