Yes, that time of year is rolling around again… Bee Package Information for 2018! First, the below link is VERY useful from the NC Dept. of Ag regarding all things apiary in our state:
http://www.ncagr.gov/plantindustry/Plant/apiary/index.
On that page you will also find a “List of Dealers Authorized to Sell Bees in NC,” and you are welcome to contact any of those suppliers to order and pick up your own bees. Out-of-state suppliers are shown at the bottom of that list. In the past, some have also purchased from suppliers in Virginia.
Two eastern NC suppliers from that list that OBX beekeepers have used in the past have sent me their pricing information and are ready to take orders:
Rick Coor – Spring Bank Bee Farm – (919) 738-7638 – rdcoor@gmail.com
3 lb. package with marked Italian queen $115 (with unmarked queen $110)
Pickup date is March 25 (Sunday), taking orders until the week before pickup or he reaches 300 total, whichever comes first.
Dave Bradley – Sapony Creek Apiary – (252) 904-4737 – saponycreekapiaries@yahoo.com
3 lb. package with marked Italian queen $115 (with unmarked queen $110)
Two pickup dates: March 26 (Monday) and April 23 (Monday), not sure of his order cutoff amount/date.
Don’t feel like driving a few hours to pick up bees? In past years, some OBX beekeepers have offered to pick up others’ orders in order to save the effort of all of us driving around the state individually. We usually suggest a small gas/time/trouble $ donation to the driver if you are so inclined, and we usually meet at a central location (last year was Harris Teeter in NH) at a specified time on pickup day.
I plan to order and pick up from Rick Coor this year, and am volunteering to pick up orders for anyone else as well! If you call Rick to order, be sure to tell him you are with the “OBX” pickup group.
If you plan to order from another supplier (whether it be getting nucs (“nucleus” hives) or packages and would volunteer to pick up orders for others, please call/email to let me know and I will let everyone else know… thanks! Denise Deacon, 252.722.3118, dmdeacon@embarqmail.com.