Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Buzzen on May 04, 2009, 07:03:58 pm
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So I'm a newb looking to get bees next spring as some of you already know, my question is this---where are the suppliers near Idaho. Would bees from California survive our harsh Idaho winters? What do all you Northern beeks suggest as a source? It seems my internet searches for package bees all originate from somewhere down south.Thanks for all replies----Todd
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Check out www.ohbees.com they are in california and I got a package from this year, though it was through a distributor in Lehi, Utah (only 1.5 hours south of me) Really impressed with their bees thus far.
I'll likely be getting bees from them again next year, and I could arrange to pick yours up for you and you could come down my way to get them from me. I know that's a long way out still, but it is an option.
Another one that is supposed to have good bees is in Washington State. www.cedarglenbees.com.
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Thanks for the info and the offer Homer, I appreciate it. I will check out that WA. website for sure!
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Hi Buzzen,
There are several good suppliers of bees in WA state though I believe they may all acquire their packages from breeders based in Northern CA. I acquired Italians from Beez Neez and Old World Carnolians from Cedar Glen this year. The Italians were installed near 3 weeks ago and 2 out of 3 have filled their first deeps. The OWCs were installed yesterday and though the packages looked very good - few dead bees in the bottom - I won't know for another 2 to 3 weeks just how well they perform. I'll be posting intermittent updates on progress and you will find several other WA based beeks providing similar reports on Beemaster. Hopefully our experiences this year and the insights of some of the more experienced members will provide what you need.
SH
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Find a bee club and find out where other Idaho beeks get their bees. Even if there isn't a club near you, you can at least talk or email. Here's a website offering Idaho bees, but I have no experience with them:
http://www.goldenbeeinc.com/index.html
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Buzzen,
PM me with an email address and i will send you an MS excel file that I have put together with a list of suppliers and prices for queens/packages/nucs. I have had problems getting bees shipped to me in ND - but this forum recently helped me get some from a supplier in CA. I will let you know how they do over the summer if you are interested (given that are conditions are probably similar).
Mike
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Knight Family Honey is the distributor for Olivaris Honey Bees in your region. I know a lot of people from SE Idaho come to him for their bees. He has a good selection, quality bees, and fair pricing. You can find him on the internet at knightfamilyhoney.com . He could probably hook you up with someone coming down to pick up bees and save you a trip. That is what's done by beekeepers in outlaying Utah, Northern Colorado, and Wyoming at I met them at Knight's distribution point this year.
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Cedar Glen Bees gets their packages from suppliers in northern California but they have the ability (new this year) to repackage the packages into cardboard boxes with vents over the actual package of bees. This allows them to ship anywhere you can get USPS, UPS, or FedEx. The packages are double packaged, once in the wood and screen package and again in the vented cardboard.
They've shipped bees that way to vermmy35 in Chicago, Il this year. So Idaho is a short hop and I know they are getting more bees to ship out soon so you may still get some there.
Call 360-652-8967. Thanks to the reputation that slaphead told them I had, if you mentiion my name you'll get excellent service.
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Might look in the paper and trade journals and your might even find some cheap or free hives in your area. Good way to get started is with an old beek that is trying to scale down or get out all together. Not to mention an afternoon going to pick up some hives you can get some really good information from the old timers. Normally bee talk goes on after dark so if you do take this method of getting bees eat supper before ya go to pick up the bees. :-D
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Don't forget to try places like craigslist too. Not too frequent beehive postings, but a few. I recently posted a hive on there and I could easily have sold 10!
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You guys ROCK! Thanks for all the info, Seems I have more options than i thought.