Bee Colony Information
Information about Bee Colonies supplied by Amazing Bees
Definitions and Information, terminology used and conditions for the sale of Bee Colonies provided by Amazing Bees.
Details for Option 1, Used Beehive with Bees
We provide you with a used single-box Langstroth hive (starter hive), populated with a colony of Bees on frames, proven queen and established brood nest.
We stock some used (2nd hand) 8-frame, full depth Langstroth single-box starter hives. The hives are branded and have been in use for five to ten years. For durability the wooden hives are hot-wax-dipped and painted with white/beige paving paint.
The 8-frame, full depth Langstroth Starter Hive consists of:
1. Hive Lid (plywood with white colour bond cover, vents)2. Brood Box (branded)3. Hive Bottom (with tin, plywood or weathertex sheet)5. A colony of bees (including queen and brood in all stages)4. Hive spring clips fitted to hold all hive components together; fit for transport.
Beehive with bees
Option 1 - full depth 8-frame Langstroth Starter Hive
populated with a colony of bees
populated with a colony of bees
Details for Option 2, Bees for Your Hive
You deliver your empty, full depth Langstroth starter hive to us and we populate it with a colony of Bees on full depth Langstroth frames, proven queen and established brood nest.
What we need is the complete and fully functional, ready-to-use single-box starter hive, fit for transporting live bees, including ratchet strap or emlock or hive spring clips fitted to keep the hive components together during transport. Your hive must have vents fitted in the lid to allow good air circulation!
Details for Option 3, Bee Swarm for Your Hive
This option is mainly for hives where standard Langstroth frames don't fit, e.g. Top-Bar Hives or Warré Hives.
We deliver the Bee Swarm to you and transfer it into your Hive.
As soon as we capture a swarm we will contact you at short notice for an immediate delivery, usually within an hour or two. It cannot wait to the next day as the bees start building comb as soon as they are in the box; this comb would be wasted energy.
We need your address and instructions of how to get access to your empty hive, awaiting the swarm, in case we cannot contact you or you are unable to be present at short notice or are delayed.
Please note:
Bee Swarms are only available in spring (Sep, Oct, Nov).A Bee Swarm does not contain an established brood nest and the presence of a queen cannot be guaranteed; although swarms without a queen are very rare. Amazing Bees cannot be held liable for failure of the swarm to establish successfully as a colony, nor for the provision of a missing or replacement of a failing queen. However, we can assist in Queen replacement.
Important: DO NOT apply swarm lure, such as pheromones or lemon grass oil to the empty hive in preparation for the swarm to be delivered by us! The swarm lure has the opposite effect when a swarm gets injected into an empty hive. As soon as the queen detects the scent she assumes there is another bee colony and queen in the hive and within a few minutes she obsconds, together with her swarm.
How we raise new Bee Colonies
- by splitting our established hives; in order to prevent swarming (1)
- by creating artificial swarms; in order to prevent swarming (1)
- from captured swarms (2)
- cultivated from feral colonies (2, 3)
(1) The age of the queen is known and is usually less than a year old; either purchased from a queen breeder or self-raised.
(2) The age of the queen from swarms and feral colonies is unknown. Not well performing queens are requeened before sale.
(3) Feral colonies are getting cultivated first and are subject to an extensive observation period to confirm good health.
Assured for Option 1 and 2: All Bee Colonies come with a productive Queen.
Constraints & Limitations
You need to pick up your bees from us or arrange delivery with us.
When you pick up your bees, potential issues during transport are your responsibility.
Hive Pick-up or Delivery (Option 1 and 2)
You need to pick-up your bees within a week, usually before sunrise in the morning or after sunset at night, when all bees are in the hive.
Preferably we deliver the bees to your place for a delivery fee.
Some hives (boxes) are not suitable for transport (e.g. Flow hive) and the bees on their Langstroth frames need to be transferred into your Flow Hive after delivery.
Note: The bee population of a new colony can rapidly grow. Therefore, if you are unable to collect your bees within a week after we have notified you, we might need to re-allocate them to somebody else.
Feed your bees if necessary
When you have received your bees please confirm that they do find sufficient pollen and nectar.
If not, please feed your bees or relocate them to better conditions.
We cannot guarantee that your bees will find sufficient food in the area where they are relocated to.
Colony Strength and Hive Size
A starter colony is usually raised in a 5-frame nucleus hive and when it has grown to full capacity, i.e. occupying 5 frames of comb, it is defined as B5(5) = 5 frames of Bees (out of 5 frames in total).
When this colony is transferred into an 8-frame single-box starter hive and 3 frames of wax foundation added, it is defined as B5(8) = 5 frames of Bees (out of 8 frames in total).
After some time this colony will grow and all frames in this hive are occupied by bees; it is then defined as B8(8) = 8 frames of Bees (out of 8 frames in total). During this growth period the colony transitions through the stages B6(8) and B7(8) until full strength of a starter hive is reached.
Once the 8 frames are fully developed and occupied by bees, usually a second 8-frame hive box (super) is stacked onto the hive, providing the bee colony with 16 frames. A strong and prolific bee colony might run out of space in a two-tier beehive, so a third hive box with 8 frames gets stacked onto the hive, providing the colony with 24 frames to work on. Very strong colonies will accept a 4th box; a better option though is to limit the number of boxes to three and instead replace some frames full with capped honey by frames with wax foundation, providing the bees with the work space they need.
Price structure according to colony strength
The development of a bee colony requires time and effort. For a fair price structure the price for a bee colony is determined by its strength and is based on:
$30 per frame covered and occupied by bees.
$8 per empty frame with wax foundation.
Example: B6(8) = 6 frames of Bees (8 frames in total in a starter hive)
6 frames fully built and occupied by bees, plus 2 frames with foundation.
Price: (6 x $30) + (2 x $8) = $196 for Option2, Bees for Your Hive.
For Option1, Beehive with Bees, the price of a used empty single-box starter hive of $60 is added, totalling to $256
Price Tables
prices valid from 1-Oct-2023
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Colony of Bees on Langstroth full depth frames for an 8-frame Langstroth hive | Option1 Beehive with Bees | Option2 Bees for Your Hive |
| B4(8): 4 frames of bees + 4 frames with wax foundation for an 8-frame hive | $212 | $152 |
| B5(8): 5 frames of bees + 3 frames with wax foundation for an 8-frame hive | $234 | $174 |
| B6(8): 6 frames of bees + 2 frames with wax foundation for an 8-frame hive | $256 | $196 |
| B7(8): 7 frames of bees + 1 frame with wax foundation for an 8-frame hive | $278 | $218 |
| B8(8): 8 frames of bees for an 8-frame hive | $300 | $240 |
| Bx(8): Any of the B4(8) - B8(8) available, for shorter lead time (see Note 1) | $212-300 | $152-240 |
Delivery can be arranged with us. Delivery charges not included in price.
Colony of Bees on Langstroth full depth frames for Your 4 or 5-frame Langstroth Nucleus Hive(see Note 2) | Option1 Nuc box with Bees | Option2 Bees for Your Hive |
| B4(4): 4 frames of bees for Your 4-frame nucleus hive | $180 | $120 |
| B4(5): 4 frames of bees + 1 frame with wax foundation for Your 5-frame nucleus hive | $188 | $128 |
| B5(5): 5 frames of bees for Your 5-frame nucleus hive | $210 | $150 |
Delivery can be arranged with us. Delivery charges not included in price.
Option 3, Bee Swarm for Your Hive
Bee Colonies for Hive Types other than Langstroth e.g. Top Bar Hives, Warré Swarms / Packaged Bees | Swarm Size | Price without Delivery |
SW4: swarm fits a 4 frame nuc hive | M | $60 |
SW5: swarm fits a 5 frame nuc hive | L | $80 |
SW8: swarm fits an 8 frame hive | XXL | $100 |
Immediate Swarm Delivery by us is mandatory. Delivery charges not included.
Note 1:
Example: We have raised a number of colonies in our own hives and they have reached a colony strength of B6(8), B7(8) or B8(8). When we then receive an order for B5(8) we cannot use any of the available colonies as they have already exceeded the strength. Trimming a stronger colony back to a smaller size is not an option we are willing to pursue. Meaning, although stronger bee colonies are readily available, we need to wait for a new colony for the B5(8) order.
Note 2:
We have used 4-frame and 5-frame nucleus hives available and they offer an easier transport option. Nucleus hives can only be used temporarily, a few weeks, i.e. as long as the bee colony is small. To allow the bee colony to grow to full strength the bees will have to be transferred into a proper size beehive, e.g. an 8-frame Langstroth hive to start with.