[Daddy'sBees]

I need a source for bee boxes to make bee packages this next year. Anyone got any connections for purchasing these? Is there a standard box size for 3 pounds of bees?

 

[valleyman]

Sorry to be blunt. You are in AHB territory. If I were you I would forget it. Your market will be very limited.

 

[mythomane]

Sorry to be blunt, but that is ridiculous. In your extensive 2 years as a hobby beekeeper Valleyman, what specifically has made you come to this conclusion? This is simply not true. Queens are now and always have been shipped from this area without issue.

 

[Daddy'sBees]

Yes, thank you mythomane. I guess someone needs to tell the famous "weaver apairies" about it then. LOL, it's only one the largest apairy and bee provider in the south. AHB is not an issue here. In fact I've never seen them locally nor know any beek around that has. It is sort of like there may have been a few hives passing through years ago, but with the multi-year droughts around here, have left the TROPICAL AHB starving and dieing out. I'll bet we couldn't find a AHB hive around here if we looked HARD for an entire month!!! AHB concerns are more Yankee "talk-it-up" BS.

I still prefer to buy a few boxes versus building them from my skill sets and time. It seems to be more in line with those that are better carpenters and have the set-up.

 

[valleyman]

I understand your protection of you area and yes my experience is limited to 3 times, 7 years of research and making mistakes. This time after retiring I now have the time to devote to them that is necessary. I will still make mistakes of which I am sure. But one of them will not be to buy bees/queens from an AHB area. I really appreciate the effort and reseach that is being done by folks in your area. Maybe it will help those of us far enough North right now that when they get here we will know how to control them. I do believe that they will adapt to our climate sooner rather than later. I wish all of you nothing but the best of luck. And yes I know about BWeaver and his brother RWeaver and other breeders in AHB areas of the country. Is that why BWeaver guarentees replacement bees if the ones you get from him are aggressive.

 

[Daddy'sBees]

Ok then. All is cool here. BUT, do you have a source for new empty shipping packages(woodenware). If not well then, you didn't help me.

 

[devdog108]

Off the "b" weaver website:

Our mating grounds are in an area where Africanized bees have been found. We feel it did effect our stock's temperament for the first 5-10 years, beginning in 1994. Most of those feral African colonies have been watered down by our stock (and other US beekeeper's stock) breeding with them and many of the colonies have died out. BeeWeaver floods its mating yards with high numbers of drones and selects breeders who are proven to be calm, workable colonies of bees. BeeWeaver offers a replacement policy for queens that produce mean bees (stinging without provocation, smoke does not calm them, stinging in high numbers)... the number of queens we must replace is minimal and decreases each year.


And no, i have no clue short of making my own if need beee

 

[valleyman]

Sorry about being off topic. I don't know of anywhere you can get the boxes, I guess I would contact a package bee supplier to see where they get theirs.

 

[beemandan]

And on topic...look at this thread and see if it isn't what you're looking for.
http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=239286&highlight=cages+jacksonville

 

[Daddy'sBees]

Yep. There they are:
http://www.nabeehive.com/commercialbeek.aspx
Thanks for the help! That's what I was looking for.