Wilbanks in Claxton, GA

[100hives]

Wilbanks is clearly future oriented and runs his business as a going concern. Have ordered packages from Wilbanks twice now and am impressed.

Any bee seller that can do what they say they will do and at the price they agreed to do it will have few competitors.

Reg Wilbanks is top shelf.

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

I agree. I recieved 3 packages this year produced by Wilbanks and they are a good month ahead of packages I've received from others. With some luck I just may get some honey from them this year. I won't buy from anyone else again.

[matt1954]

I dont know about the industry being full of flakes. However, I have had great dealins with Wilibanks and their Queens. I replaced 10 hives with Wilibanks Queens as a result of poor performance from packages and everyone is laying wall to wall brood and helping with splits. I hope to put in an order for packages to diversify the risk in 2012.

[Beagler]

How gentle are his bees?

[Hokie Bee Daddy]

The bees that came with the package were a little more aggressive that I was used to. They went for my hands every time I got in the hives and I got several stings. My wife got stung by one a month ago while she was planting something in front of the hive (she won't do that again). That had me concerned but the new queen's bees are some of the gentlest I've worked with so far. I went into two hives last thursday evening and the change was a dramatic as night and day. They didn't buzz my head or go after me at all.

I would guess that Wilbanks has seperate genetic stock for fast spring build-up in their package bees and then calmer genetics for ongoing production. I can live with this combination because they really are good. I have a deep and 1 1/2 medium supers drawn out already on each hive and I installed on April 7.

[berkshire bee]

Last year there was a post about a supplier(not Wilbanks) being short on weight of packages, so when I got mine (from Wilbanks) I weighed them for the heck of itbefore and after installation to get the net weight of bees. All were a very generous 3 lbs+

[rjphil]

I've been very pleased with the quality and temperment of Mr. Wilbanks' bees, and would recommend them to anyone.

[adamf]

I would guess that Wilbanks has seperate genetic stock for fast spring build-up in their package bees and then calmer genetics for ongoing production. I can live with this combination because they really are good. I have a deep and 1 1/2 medium supers drawn out already on each hive and I installed on April 7.

Hi,
I doubt that.

Bee temperment is very subjective. Local aggression could be due to something completely unrelated to Wilbanks or any other queen producer's stock being "agressive". People post about this guy's "mean" bees and that guy's "mean" bees. Maybe the way THEY handle the bees makes for agressive behavior.

I have used Willbanks queens off and on for over 23 years and they have been consistiently excellent.

Adam Finkelstein
www.vpqueenbees.com

[wkinne]

I have purchased 16 Queens from Wilbanks this year, and one last year, I am very happy with them. They are very friendly on the phone and always have done exactly what they said.

I will order from them again.



Wayne

[rationalanimal]

I ordered 3 packages through Reseska Aparies in Holiston, MA. They got them in from Wilbanks. All 3 packages looked great with only a few dead bees on the bottom. Between the lack of dead bees and the syrup cans still being mostly full I think they could not have been in there more than a couple of days. All 3 felt about the same so I weighed one before and after install. It was 3.2 lbs of bees. The queens and their attendants were all alive and well. The queens have been released but it is too early to say anything about their quality. All the hives have been bringing in pollen and nectar despite the cool weather. I wouldn't hesitate to order from them again.

Wilbanks is clearly future oriented and runs his business as a going concern. Have ordered packages from Wilbanks twice now and am impressed.

Any bee seller that can do what they say they will do and at the price they agreed to do it will have few competitors.

Reg Wilbanks is top shelf.