Planning Ahead - Part 2

The weather here in Cedar has become damp, foggy and very cold. Theo has not made many checks on the hives yet. He doesn't want to stir up the bees when the weather is so damp out. As soon as the weather warms up even a bit, Theo will be out there checking. But we must continue to think ahead and plan for the upcoming bee season so here are some things to consider with respect to planning your bee equipment.

Once you have made your own assessment of your bees, and you take into consideration the best case winter survival scenarios, make an inventory list and decide how many boxes, frames, inner covers, lids etc will you need. 

You can source equipment new or used, locally and online. You can also build equipment if you are handy and motivated.

A couple of things to remember when buying used equipment:

• Ask if it has been inspected by the local bee inspector- they will look for signs of foulbrood , nosema or other diseases and sign off on the equipment.
• You can take any used boxes with comb to Iotron in Vancouver to remove diseases like foulbrood, chalkbrood and nosema.

Sources for new equipment in and around Nanaimo are:

Bees 'n Glass in Lake Cowichan

Flying Dutchman in Nanaimo

Often we buy our equipment online through the following sites*:

Mann Lake (Mann Lake actually builds the equipment themselves which can mean lower prices)

Brushy Mountain Bee Farm

Glory Bee Foods

If your bees did not survive the winter or you suspect they won't make it or you simply want to expand you can order bees through Greg McCammon, a local Nanaimo beekeeper. You can contact him directly here and place an order no later than February 1, 2013 with a down payment of $20 per package. Final payment will be needed by March 20, 2013. Packages come with 2.2lbs of Carniolan Bees. Bees will arrive between Mar 27, 2013- April 12, 2013 (usually arrive late on April 2 on Vancouver Island) and for convenience can be picked up at our farm (click here for a map and directions).

Prices vary depending on order size.

1 package = $170 Taxes included

10 Packages= $160 ea Taxes
included

Carniolan Queens also available and the minimum order size is 10. The prices will be available in the new year but are usually around $26/queen.

Let us know how your bees are faring...Happy Planning!

* anything we recommend is because we use them and is not advertising. We do not receive any form of payment in exchange for recommendations.