Nucs and Equipment
Zia Queenbees starter nuclei are recently established "mini-colonies" — the honeybees know their queen, and their queen is a confirmed egg-layer with a solid brood pattern. Starter nucs are a great way to establish a hive that is gentle, hearty, productive and pest/disease resistant. Our assembled equipment is built to last and to provide your hives with shelter over many years of beekeeping.
Starter Nucs
3-frame starter nucs: $85.00 with frame exchange* (w/o frame exchange add
$9.00)
5-frame starter nucs: $120.00 with frame exchange* (w/o frame exchange add
$15.00)
*Frame exchange with Pierco or wooden frame with plastic foundation only
- Fresh, well-mated Queenbee of your choice: Rocky Mountain Reina or Great Lakes Sooper Yooper
- Drawn comb, open and sealed brood, as well as at least one full frame of honey stores and pollen
Initial supplemental feeding is recommended when transferring the starter nuclei into your equipment or establishing a top bar nuc. Honeycomb is the honeybee's biggest asset and requires adequate energy from the honeybees. Once established through proper management, starter nuclei develop into enduring, self-sufficient, productive colonies crafted by Mother Nature's hand.
Top Bar Hive Starter Nuc
Available in limited quantity in late spring, we offer established starter nuclei for top bar hives. They are only available in 3-frame sets for $100 frijoles. The nucs are available for pick-up when the population and honeycomb are established enough to endure travel.
As a standard, we utilize 19 inch long wooden top bars that are ½ inch thick with a recycled Pierco starter strip. This starter strip (holding the honeycomb) can be unscrewed and screwed onto personally sized top bars. By using 19 inch long top bars that are ½ inch thick, one is better able to interchange their top bars with other size top bar and standard Langstroth users.
We do not offer package bees (pounds of bees with a queen without honeycomb).
Langstroth Equipment (Advance Order Necessary, Pick-up Only)
| Assembled Standard Deep Box (joints glued & stapled) including 10 wooden frames with plastic foundation |
$50.00 unpainted $60.00 painted |
| Standard Deep Box (unassembled without frames) |
$15.00 unpainted |
| Bee Box Top | $10.00 unpainted $20.00 painted |
| Bee Box Bottom | $17.00 unpainted $27.00 painted |
| Deep Wooden Frames with plastic foundation |
$3.00/each |
