Our Services

2025 spring nucs website

Reserve Your Nucs

Douglas Bee Apiary and Planting Hope Apiary are excited to announce we will be offering Spring nucs again in 2025!! 

A quick “thank you” to everyone who participated in the 2024 Spring bulk nuc purchase. 

Once again, we are teaming up with the folks at The Boston Honey Company (BHC) to facilitate a large order of 5 frame deep nucs. These bees ARE NOT BEES FROM OUR APIARY, but we do trust the quality of the BHC bees. We also can’t say enough about the hard work these guys put in every year to produce quality nucs on a large scale. 

All orders must be PREPAID

  • 2025 Spring Nucs: $205 PER NUC 
  • These 5 Frame Deep Nucs consist of a laying VHS queen, 3 frames of brood and 2 frames of honey or pollen. Past hives have been solid producers with gentle bees. The nucs come ready to go so pick-up day(s) will be simply “grab and go”.
  • 2025 Spring Nucs AFB Queen Treated: $225 PER NUC
  • Trusted since 1996, Boston Honey Co. produced high quality NUCS from a mix of VSH Carniolan, and Pol-line strains. For other pickup locations, contact info@bostonhoneycompany.com.
  • 60% new comb
  • Premium 5 drawn frames
  • AFB Immunized Queen
  • 3 frames of Brood
  • Overwintered Nucs: $220 PER NUC (limited supply)
  • Mated queens: $40 each from Boston Honey Co. (Nucs come with a mated queen, and not required to purchase separately.) Hopefully, I will have locally mated queens from my apiary by the middle or the end of May (depending on weather).

Delivery is tentatively set for late April to mid May (weather depending). Pickup from Douglas Bee Apiary is in New Castle, DE. Information on pick-up will be sent as time approaches to those who have purchased.

Orders will be first come first serve.

If you would like to secure your spot for a nuc (or several) please let us know ASAP. The spots will fill up fast, we have already had calls! Please order by clicking “Reserve Nucs Now” or “Contact Us” and I will provide information for payment. Payment in full is the only way to secure your spot on the list.

 

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Locally Raised & Mated Queens

The social structure of a bee colony is maintained by the presence of the queen and workers.  Each colony has only one queen and her primary function is reproduction. But she also produced pheromones that serve as a social “glue” unifying and helping to give individual identity to a bee colony.

So why would a beekeeper need to buy a queen when the bees can make one for themselves? There are several situations where purchasing a queen honey bee is the best idea for the colony. Some reasons include genetics that could boost hygiene to help resist parasites, a queen that can thrive better through the winter, or your colony might not be able to produce their own queen.

If you are looking to purchase a locally raised or mated queen, please contact us.

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Douglas Bee Apiary Honey Jar

Bee & Swarm Removals

Honey bees swarm as a natural part of their life cycle, it is how the colony reproduces. If swarms are not collected the honeybees will find a new home on their own, in a place that may not be convenient. Hollow trees, attics, chimneys and underneath the siding of a home are common places bees will swarm

Our standard removal process begins by locating the swarm. The most common locations include ceiling or walls of homes.  We use a Flir camera, which picks up heat from bees. After the bees found, a bee vacuum is used to suck them up and the comb is scraped out. Where comb was is then primed, the opening plugged, and lastly the drywall is patched, taped and spackled. After everything is done the bees are taken to the apiary to raise.

Contact us to for help removing bees from inside your home or trees.

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Learn about Beekeeping

Mentorship for beginners

We offer early beekeeping education and training to newly minted beekeeper hobbyists—from beginning hive set up through honey extraction. Learn more on our Beekeeping Education page. You can watch videos of tours of our colonies and topics covering general hive/colony maintenance. 

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    a view inside the hive educational

    Woodware

    We carry:

    • 10 frame setups
    • 8 frame woodware

    If you are interested in purchasing frames or have any questions, please give us a buzz.

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    Don't forget to stock up on honey & merch!

    Douglas Bee Apiary Honey 8oz Glass 2

    Honey & Comb Honey

    Our apiaries produce over 2000 pounds of honey each year. We sell both regular honey and comb honey, as well as beeswax. Honey is usually pulled from July to September (sometimes in the spring).

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    beeswax two blocks thumbnail

    Beeswax & Wax Cappings

    We sell both regular beeswax as well as beeswax cappings by the pound. Cappings are a great material for candlemaking.

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    Douglas Bee Apiary Embroidered Hat with Logo

    Merchandise

    Custom embroidered hats, shirts, or sweatshirts with our Douglas Bee Apiary logo.

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