Our Bees
Pollination Services
We provide pollination services to blueberry, squash, cucumber, cantaloupe and watermelon growers in southeastern North Carolina. Our hives are 10-frame double-deeps containing 8-12 frames of bees per hive (15,000-40,000 bees), a laying queen and sufficient stores to carry them through the pollination period. Bees are transported six hives per pallet. Call (910) 540-4611 or email shakencreekfarms@gmail.com for pricing information and a pollination contract.
Nucleus Colonies
A fresh start
Nucleus colonies, or nucs, are the most reliable way to replace winter losses or to get started in beekeeping.
Our nucs are 5-frame and of Italian stock with Varroa Sensitive Hygiene (VHS) queens that have an established laying pattern. They are started in February/March for late-April pickup. If properly managed, your nuc can establish a strong colony in time for the summer nectar flow in North Carolina and regions northward.
Nuc Pricing
Our nucleus colonies cost $165 each and must be picked up at our farm unless otherwise arranged. This fee includes the cost of a reusable corrugated cardboard nuc box for transportation to your permanent hive.
To place an order please reach out through our Contact Page, call (910) 540-4611
or email shakencreekfarms@gmail.com.
A Beginner’s Guide
Beekeeping is an endlessly fascinating hobby that helps your local environment and provides a sweet treat in the spring and summer, but getting started can be an overwhelming prospect. Read on for our tips on where to begin and how to take care of your 30,000 new best friends.
1. Start with knowledge
The first step in becoming a successful beekeeper is learning as much as you can about these hardworking little ladies. Honeybee colonies consist of three social castes: the queen bee, worker bees and drones. The queen can live for 5-6 years, lays all of the eggs in the colony and only leaves the hive for two reasons: to mate or to swarm. Worker bees are aptly named - they are sterile females that care for young, forage for, make and store honey, produce wax, clean the hive and defend against intruders. Drones are the only male bees in the colony and their sole purpose is to mate with queens.
Scientists are still learning about these complex critters. Did you know bees have a sophisticated system of communication? That they can tell time? That they’re the only insects that store food in excess? The more you know, the better you’ll be able to care for your hive.
Image by uacescomm
Take a class
Arming yourself with a basic understanding of these captivating insects and how to care for them will make all the difference in your first season of beekeeping. We recommend taking an introductory class before purchasing your own hive. If you’re local to the Wilmington, NC - area, the New Hanover County Beekeepers Association and Hampstead Beekeepers both offer a multi-week course every winter. Check with your local beekeepers association to see what’s available in your area.
Find a mentor
When starting your first hive, no matter how much you may know about bees, we very much recommend connecting with your local beekeepers association. Your first few years as a beekeeper will be full of questions — even seasoned apiarists run into perplexities in their hives — and having access to the wealth of knowledge and experience held by local beekeepers will undoubtedly lead to a more positive and successful experience for you and your bees.
2. Choose the right hive for you
For first-time beekeepers, we recommend starting with at least two hives. It doesn’t require much extra effort and gives you more flexibility if one hive starts to fail. But what kind of hive is right for you? A quick internet search provides an overwhelming number of options, some modern and sleek, others tried and true. Many beekeepers will claim that their hive system is the only way to go, but the truth is there are many successful options. You should choose the one that best suits your needs.
The three most common hive systems are the Langstroth, the Warre and the Top Bar. Here’s a quick description of each:
Langstroth
When most people envision a beehive, the Langstroth hive is what comes to mind. They are the most common hive system used by hobbyist and commercial beekeepers in the United States (and it’s what we use here at Shaken Creek Farms!). Consisting of rectangular boxes with hanging interior frames that can be moved, these hives can be expanded by adding additional boxes vertically (adding additional hive boxes on top of an existing hive is called ‘supering’).
Langstroth hives come in standardized sizes, making supplies easy to obtain from multiple manufacturers. They require a moderate amount of beekeepings management and generally generate the highest honey yield of the three most common hive systems, but the boxes can get quite heavy - a deep box full of honey can weigh as much as 80 pounds.
Image by Matt
Warre
The idea behind Warre hives is to mimc the honeybees’ natural environment as closely as possible. In the Warre system, bees are allowed to draw out their comb downward, as they would in the wild, and additional boxes are added at the bottom of the stack when needed (adding boxes to the bottom of an existing hive is called ‘nadiring’).
Warre hives are shorter and narrower than Langstroth hives, meaning they are the lighter option of the two, and they have the most hands-off system of management for beekeepers. They fall in the middle of the pack on honey yield.
Image by Maja Dumat
Top Bar
Popular among hobbyists, the biggest difference between Top Bar hives and the box-style Langstroth and Warre, is that Top Bar hives have a fixed, horizontal cavity that cannot be expanded. Because of this fixed space, Top Bar hives need to be tended to more often than other systems. If you plan of having a large number of hives, the Top Bar system probably isn’t for you, as they take up a fair amount of space and require frequent upkeep.
Fans of the Top Bar hive like that they sit at a table-top height, making working within the hive more comfortable. They also require no heavy lifting — you’re working frame by frame (rather than with a whole box), and each frame weights only 5-7 pounds at its heaviest (full of honey). However, they generally have the lowest honey yield of these three common hive systems.
Image by Maja Dumat
These hives are also ideal for teaching and learning about bees. Bees in Top Bar hives tend to be more docile since you’re disturbing only a small portion of the colony at a time, and many Top Bar hives include a viewing window, meaning you can observe your bees without interrupting their activity.
3. Assemble your supplies
Now that you’ve decided on a hive, the next step is to equip yourself with the essential tools of the trade. There are plenty of snazzy gadgets out there aimed at making your beekeeping experience easier and safer, but here’s our list of absolute must-haves before you open the lid on your first hive:
Protective Clothing
It is a fact of beekeeping that, no matter how careful, gentle and patient you are, you’re going to get stung by your bees. The best way to reduce the possibility of stings is to wear protective clothing.
We recommend all beginner beekeepers use a bee jacket and veil when working with their bees. At the very least you should protect the sensitive skin of your face with a veil. For more protection, full-body bee suits cover the wearer from head to ankle. Stings on the hands are also quite common, so we suggest investing in a pair of beekeeping gloves.
Smoker
The smoker is probably the most recognizable tool in a beekeeper’s toolbox, and for good reason. Smoke masks the honeybee’s alarm pheromone, minimizing a reaction by the whole colony. If you get stung, it’s best to quickly smoke the site to prevent other bees from picking up on the pheromone and also attacking.
Smoke also makes bees think a wildfire is nearby and prompts them to gorge on honey in anticipation of having to flee. A bee with a stomach full of honey is more docile, and thus makes a hive inspection safer for the beekeeper.
Hive Tool
The hive tool is a solid, flat, metal tool that resembles a paint scraper and it is a must-have for hive inspections. One end is tapered and flat, the other is a tapered curve and it’s uses are nearly endless. They help beekeepers lift the lid off of a hive, pry loose frames glued in place with propolis (sometimes called “bee glue,” the bees make propolis from tree resin), squash pests like hive beetles and so much more.
Bee Brush
It may not be an absolute necessity, but a bee brush can come in pretty handy. It’s used to gently remove bees from wherever you don’t want them - a frame of honey, the outer edges of a box where they could get squished, etc. Rougher brushes run the risk of damaging a bee’s delicate legs and wings. Keep in mind that bees will be angered by being brushed about, leading to increased alarm pheromones and a higher risk of stings, so use it only as needed.
4. Get your bees
You have the knowledge base, hive and tools - now it’s time to bring the bees to their new home. Here are three options for filling your hive:
Image by thurdl01
Nucleus Colonies
A nuc is the most reliable way to start a new honeybee colony. Essentially a mini hive, nuc boxes come with 5 frames of built out honey, pollen and “brood” (baby bees). They include a queen and enough worker bees to expand the hive into their new home. Nuc boxes often build up quickly because they already have eggs, larvae and honey stores.
Shaken Creek Farms offers 5-frame nuc boxes for $158, which includes the cost of a reusable corrugated cardboard nuc box. We recommend placing an order in January or February as supplies are limited. Call us at (910) 540-4611 or email shakencreekfarms@gmail.com to place an order. Nucs are ready in late April and must be picked up at our farm unless otherwise otherwise arranged.
Image by Virginia State Parks
Bee Packages
Bee packages include a mated queen and about three pounds of worker bees (10,000 or so individuals) in a screen box. They can be picked up locally or some companies will ship them to you. These packages can be installed in any hive style, since no built out comb is included.
Swarms
Swarming is how honeybees naturally reproduce as a colony in the wild. When a bee colony has filled up the available space in their current hive, the bees will raise a new queen. The old queen and roughly half of her worker bees will leave the hive. These bees will cluster in a tight ball - a swarm - somewhere near their old hive while scout bees search for a new home. Eventually the scout bees will return and lead the half-colony to their new home.
It is while the bees are swarming that they can be captured and used to populate your empty hive. This is the cheapest (free!) way to get bees into your hive, and swarming colonies usually have strong genetics, proven by the fact that they have survived the winter in the local climate and the “mother colony” was strong enough to split in early spring.
5. Keep learning
You did it! You’re officially a beekeeper, and now the real fun begins. During your first beekeeping season you’ll start to recognize the basic needs of your hive. Factors like feeding needs, honey maturity, the health of a colony, mite control and queen development will all become apparent with observation, trial and error. Monitor your bees, read books and blogs, find a mentor at your local beekeepers association and don’t be afraid to ask questions. We recommend not harvesting any honey during your first season. You and your hive are still growing, and getting through the winter together is your next big challenge.