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Overwintered Colonies |
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What are overwintered
colonies?
These are colonies that we make towards the end of each year from late
season splits with freshly mated fall queens. These are colonies we use to
rebuild our hive inventory from any winter losses that may occur.
Because of the time of the year we make these splints, they require much
more of a time investment to get them through the winter. Since a good deal more
time is invested, they
are priced slightly higher than spring splits - typically $50 to $100 more each
- depending on the source. However, since we raise our own bees, they can
be made available for only $30 more each and available before the spring
splits.
These colonies are overwintered at our southernmost bee yards down
near Brownsville, Tx where the temperature is typically 15° to 20° warmer
during the winter months. Each hive is monitored weekly throughout the winter, which is
like an extended fall in the Rio Grande Valley. They are checked regularly,
fed pollen and/or syrup if needed, and of course treated for mites.
The warmer climate prevents the colonies from shutting down and they are
a lot stronger coming into the new year.
We typically use these colonies to rebuild and increase our numbers so we
can be ready for the early spring crop pollination for large scale farmers.
Such as the California Almond growers and the Rio Grande Valley early
watermelon crops that are planted around New Years Day each year.
These fall Queen colonies have a lower tendency to swarm early in the
springtime and are still laying vigorously since they have not had a full
season to mature yet. We are making an extra reserve this year to satisfy
the demand for early bees for those wanting to get an earlier start in the
year.
With the supply chain being limited, we will have a limited amount of splits this fall. Orders are filled on a first come - first serve
basis. Order early to ensure availability in the early spring.
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• Up • Overwintered Colonies • Summer Bees • FAQs • Nuc Install • Pickup Information • Types of Bees •
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| Beekeeping Supplies and Products
Are Local
Pick Up Only (at this time) Except Special Orders Shipping or
delivery arrangements may be made with minimum orders and certain products. |
We double check all hives and nucs prior to marking them ready for pick up
and rarely have issues, but we are human and prone to mistakes and bees are
live animals and prone to change from one day to the next. Therefore we have
the following policy and will replace or exchange a
colony if we are notified of an issue right away. Waiting more than a week
to report an issue is not considered right away.
Cancellation, Refund and Return Policy:
Honey bees are livestock, therefore they are
subject to conditions and other factors that effect their health such as;
diseases, pesticides, temperatures, etc. and since we have no control over the
conditions the bees are subjected to once they leave our property, we can
not be responsible for incidents or accidents after they leave our
possession. For these reasons, under normal conditions, we recommended hive inspections before
loading and leaving our property and signing off on the order received
documents.
However, with COVID-19 safety concerns, we will honor
and respect and waive the pick up day inspections and ask that you please
report any issues within 48 hours of receiving your bees. For anyone that
has a long way to travel, we would prefer to go through the hives before you
leave so in the event of an issue, we can correct it prior to leaving with
your order.
Since we must make all necessary arrangements and commitments to secure
everything needed to fill orders, from equipment to reserving bees to
securing queens from preferred out of state breeders, etc., we have the following
cancellation policy:
Cancellation of Orders: All
cancellations for refunds must be requested in writing within seven (7) days from the time
the order is placed. A 10% processing fee will be applied to all
cancellation requests filled after the seventh day of the order and will be
processed as time permits.
Returns for Supplies and Gear: If there is any issue with any equipment,
supplies or
gear, please let us know within seven (7) days of the receipt of the product and
we will arrange for an exchange. All requests for a refund filled after this
time are subject to a 10% restocking fee. |
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