1. Does this mean his Nucs are NOT overwintered and rather created from Spring growth ?

I would "guess"' that the nucs ready in June/July are probably spring splits with new queens. If the nucs were actually overwintered they would be ready much earlier in the season, more like April/May.

2. If I were to buy the Nuc in June / July, will they grow to be strong enough for next winter ?

I would think so, but be prepared to feed through August/September. Your main flow probably ends in July so they would need supplemental feeding.

 

Thanks Mike. As a newbee, its little confusing.. I know there are too many parameters to be sure, but what works best for first year beek?

1. Early package bees with summer requeen with local genetics Queen
2. Shipped /Transported Nuc
3. Summer split Nuc with local genetics
4. Overwintered Nuc with local genetics

May be I am overthinking this..

 

I would prefer a summer split from the previous summer or an overwintered nuc.

 

where are you located in NJ?
have you tried contacting the bee clubs in NJ? the NJ beekeepers assoc. has local branches around the state with some
excellent beekeepers as members. certainly some make nucs for sale and in the next few weeks I bet they will be advertising. if they bring them up from down south the nj network will be able to tell you the who, what, when, where of it all.
fwiw I make spring nucs on Long Island and they are usually ready middle of May; so I'm not sure you have to wait until the june/july time frame once you find who does what re spring nucs in NJ.
for a new start up nucs can't be beat so 4, 2, 3, 1 would be my order of preference.
Mike's comments above are dead on.

look through the NJ site and send them some emails re nucs/bees for sale by their members. if you are starting out with a
top bar hive that needs to be said at the beginning of the conversation, and then your best bet (only bet?) is probably a package.
http://www.njbeekeepers.org

 

I in Bergen County.. NE, close to NY border. I am going to the assoc meeting next weekend. I WAS going to start out with TBH, but local support in general seem to be limited to none. So back to standard frame. I wanted Carniolan, and looks like very few people in NJ do Carnis.

 

I wanted Carniolan, and looks like very few people in NJ do Carnis.

Make arrangements now.....Order a Carniolan queen for delivery at dandelion bloom...May 1 in NJ? There are some excellent Carni queens available in California. Have a beekeeper you know make you a queenless split from one of their hives, ready for pick up when the queen arrives. Take the split to your apiary and install the Carni queen.

No problem.

 

ok then.
you'll find your bees at that meeting, make it the priority of going.
tough to get going with a tbh unless you get a package as all are made differently.
you are right that you will find much support, advice, bees, etc. with a lang hive.
i don't think you will regret it.
good luck.

 

have a couple of friends in NY that started with nucs last week of july 2014- I was skeptical , but they poured syrup to them, got them into double deeps by October, shimmed and fed sugar cakes over last winter and their bees survived. Not a good plan, just saying a June/july nuc should make it, but push the feeding hard all year. Some will say you may get honey crop off of nuc, I would rather push to get 2 deeps ready. Local genetics are best, already suited to your climate- ask for mentoring- its out there

 

I was thinking about this tonight. Year before last, I started two nucs in middle July. I fed all summer and into fall. They almost filled a complete deep. They survived last winter. This year I started 4 in July with bought queens. I have one that made it this year into winter and I hope it pulls through. I think it really depends on the season, the state, and whether or not you can show a lot of attention to them. We had a drought this year and what was there to forage on in the fall got wiped out by a 11.5" - 25" flood in three days and another thirty days of rain. It all depends on location and weather.

My order down here would be overwintered nuc, package/spring nuc. We can start nucs and packages a lot earlier here where it is warmer. I am not going to be doing any July starts from now on, unless it is a swarm.

 

1. Yes (if they are typical size for a nucleus hive).
2. Probably if the bees are properly cared for, but the odds get worse the later you wait.

 

also transporting bees in July can be tricky,hot sun without good ventilation is a melt down

 

For what it's worth, I got a late swarm in late June (on my fb page). I hived them on drawn comb. By Oct, they were in 4 ten frame medium supers and busting at the seams. So yes, it is very possible to overwinter them. BTW, I did not feed them either.
A nuc (and the beekeeping association) is the best bet for a newbee. Like WWBee said, ventillation, ventillation, ventillation during transport.

 

I hope you got some advice at your local meeting that makes you feel comfortable. I happen to feel that a nuc is better for beginners than a package. But an April package would mean you would have to change your queen from Italian to Carniolan, which can be challenging with a mentor close by. Hopefully you found some Carni nucs.

We are in Albany NY, not too far from you and if you like I can recommend some Carni nuc suppliers in the area. Contact me at lloydATrossrounds.com if you would like more information.

 

Hello,
This will be my first year with bees. I too am from NJ ( Ocean County ) and wanted Carniolans, but I was able to find 5 frame overwintered Italian nucs from beehivebarn.com. They are located in Cranbury. So I ordered 2 five frame nucs for late April pick up.

 

Awesome. I will sure be following your posts. I ordered an italian Nuc from association, a carniolan nuc from local guy. I also have a queen on order following Michael advice above. And keeping contact info of Sam Comfort and a russian queen breeder out of Virginia handy. Hope I dont get overwhelmed by this

I watched Michael Palmer videos and hope to go into next winter with few Nucs.

After all these plans, I am sure I will be back with questions, comments, frustation etc

 

You can easy enough build up a one frame nuc with a laying queen on July 1 to over winter strength. There are only two things you need to do. 1. The day you get the nuc install an apivar strip to kill the mites. Do this even if you are told they are mite free because they are not mite free. There is no such thing as mite free. 2. Put 1 to 1 sugar water on them the day you get them and feed them all they will take until they occupy at least 15 frames. I have started five frame nucs in mid August and had them over winter just fine.