Description
Our starter beehive contains everything you need to begin beekeeping except for your protective equipment and tools. This kit bundles the bees with the recommended wooden hive. We will deliver this to you in early May at one of the regional pickup locations listed below.
Preorder your Spring 2024 honey bee nuc bundled with a basic hive setup. Each nuc has a new mated queen and 2 frames of brood (babies) plus enough pollen and nectar for a baby hive to be off to a fabulous start. Our northern queen bee genetics yield a bee that is gentle, darker than normal, great honey producers, and excellent overwintering ability. Our breeder stock comes from Dr. Joe Latshaw in Ohio.
Also included with the starter beehive bundle is our 20-page beginner beekeeper guide, complete with a beekeeping calendar and helpful reference pictures. This guide is designed to help new beekeepers learn the best practices for first-year beekeeping in our region. As well, our beekeeper Matt is happy to answer any beekeeping questions you might have along the way.
Our bees go quickly because we have many satisfied customers. Reserve now by purchasing this bundle. Pricing for this bundle includes $215 for the equipment and $180 for the bees, a $20 discount.
This hive is the default beehive setup for new beekeepers in our region. While bees in single deep hive setups do overwinter successfully here, your bees will have an easier time doing so in a hive with two deep boxes.
This includes the following hive components:
(1) bottom board
(1) entrance reducer
(2) deep hive bodies (boxes)
(13) deep frames
(1) deep frame feeder
(1) migratory top cover
The bottom board is the base of your hive. The hive bodies sit on top of the bottom board and are stacked on top of each other. The frames go inside of these boxes and are where your bees will build honeycomb, raise their brood (babies), and store honey. Each hive body holds 10 frames. Your nuc includes 5 frames. The frame feeder is 2 frames wide. So, this double deep hive includes the other 13 frames needed for your hive. The top cover fits above the top hive body and covers the bee hive. The entrance reducer fits between the bottom board and bottom hive body, reducing the entrance to and protection of the hive.
This product is sold with a nuc (nucleus colony) of bees installed. It is only available for local delivery or at one of our regional pickup locations.
It’s widely recommended that new beekeepers start with 2 hives. There are two primary reasons for this recommendation. First, if 1 of your hives is struggling, you can pull resources from the stronger colony to help the weaker one. Second, you can learn a lot about bee hive health from comparing your two hives to each other.
In addition to home delivery within the greater Pittsburgh area, we have the following pickup locations for Spring 2021 nucs:
PA: KeyBank Pavilion in Burgettstown, Lowe’s in Monroeville, Rural King in Connellsville, Rural King in Butler, WalMart in Tarentum, Greensburg Mall, Aldi in Bridgeville, Home Depot in Beaver Falls, Grove City Outlets in Grove City, WalMart in Clarion, WalMart in Blairsville, Lowe’s in DuBois, Cracker Barrel in Altoona, Giant Eagle in Bedford, WalMart in Meadville, Wal-Mart in Edinboro, Cracker Barrel in Erie off of I-90 near I-79, WalMart in Greenville, WalMart on North Atherton in State College, WalMart in Clearfield, the Sheetz in Breezewood
OH: WalMart in Ashtabula, WalMart on Doral Dr in Poland, WalMart on Goldie Rd in Youngstown, WalMart on Maple Ave in Zanesville, WalMart in Marietta, WalMart in Akron on S Arlington Rd, Walmart in Macedonia, WalMart in North Canton on Mega St NW, WalMart in Reynoldsburg, WalMart in Whitehall, WalMart in Columbus on Morse Road
WV: Cabela’s in Triadelphia, WalMart in Morgantown, WalMart in Martinsburg (5680 Hammonds Mill Road), WalMart in South Point, WalMart in Huntington, WalMart in South Charleston, WalMart in Beckley, WalMart in Vienna, WalMart in Parkersburg, WalMart in Mason
MD: WalMart in La Vale, WalMart in Frederick on Guildord Drive, Home Depot on Forest Plaza in Annapolis, WalMart in Bowie, WalMart in Pasadena, WalMart in Mt Airy, WalMart in Ellicott City, WalMart in Bowie, WalMart in Towson, WalMart on Garland Groh Drive in Hagerstown, WalMart in Westminster, and WalMart on Frederick Road in Germantown
VA: Walmart in Alexandria off of US-1, Cracker Barrel on Front Royal Pike in Winchester, Lowe’s off of US-17 in Fredericksburg
KY: WalMart in Mt Sterling, WalMart in North Park Marketplace in Lexington, WalMart in Georgetown, WalMart in Cynthiana, WalMart in Morehead, WalMart in Mt Sterling, WalMart in Louisa, WalMart in Pikeville, WalMart in Hazard
Our general recommendation for first-year beekeeping equipment can be found here: Carter Farm Equipment Recommendation.
You can choose your hive’s paint color from white, light pink, forest green, fireman red, light yellow, pastel blue, police blue, light green, hunter orange, bold pink, oxford blue, light purple, and unpainted.
