BEES

learn more about our passion for bees at Backroads Apiary!

BEES FOR SALE

Backroads Apiary has been the premier supplier of honeybees for urban beekeepers in the greater Austin Texas area. In addition to selling bees, Let us help you  learn all about backyard beekeeping, and purchase all the beekeeping supplies needed to maintain a backyard apiary. No matter where you are in your beekeeping journey, there is always so much to learn and sharing our passion for the honeybee is what we love to do. 

KILLER BEES

Remember the “killer bees” scare back in the 90’s? As sensationalized as these reports were, these aggressive bees were indeed problematic and come from a line known as africanized bees.
Africanized bees were the result of an experimental breeding program in Brazil, where the European honeybee was bred with the African honeybee. After escaping from the laboratory, they spread throughout Latin America and into the South Western United States. To look at them, these bees seem no different than other honeybees. However, africanized bees have become ubiquitous in the Los Angeles area and behave very differently from pure European stock honeybees, also referred to as bees of known genetics.

BEES OF GENTLE GENETICS

     At Backroads Apiary, we sell only European honeybees of known genetics. All of our  nucs and queens come from our stock that we have hand picked for VSH Varroa Sensitive hygiene. We encourage the practice of using known genetics for backyard beekeeping for the safety of the beekeeper, family, friends, animals, neighbors, and the community at large. 

If you want your bees to expand in size quickly, a nuc may be the option for you. Because a nuc is an established colony, the bee population will expand quickly, and you may even be lucky enough to get honey in the first year (no promises though). Along with the queen, worker bees, and maybe some drones, a nuc consists of 3-5 drawn out frames of wax, which will contain a combination of brood, pollen, and honey. The 5 frames are deep Langstroth frames.  Unlike a package of bees, with a nuc, the queen can immediately begin laying eggs in the available beeswax cells. Another plus, by the time you receive your nuc, there will most likely be capped cells of brood getting ready to emerge. The five frames are inside a plastic case known as a nuc box that can easily be transported from the car into the bee yard. Installing a nuc can be a little tricky because the queen can be roaming on any of the frames, so care must be taken while removing the frames from the nuc box and installing them into the hive body. Make sure to watch for our beeday pick-up we will have demos and talk bees. so you will know what to do when your bees arrive on pick up day!

Click here to purchase a Nuc of Bees

QUEEN BEES FOR SALE

 Backroads Apiary sells mated  queens from a reputable queen breeding source. Queens are sold by appointment throughout the beekeeping season and may also be available during the fall and winter Call The Valley Hive to check for availability and make a reservation to pick up a queen.

WHEN TO ORDER BEES

Our honeybees are perfectly suited for Texas and adapt well to living in Austin Texas. The population inside a beehive ebbs and flows according to the seasons and varies somewhat depending on local temperatures, available food resourses (flowers) as well as the subspecies of the bees. Because beekeeping is cyclical and dependent on the natural cycle of the seasons, the best time to start a new hive is in the Spring when bee populations are expanding.

ORDER BEES EARLY

We sell a limited supply of P Nucs.  We usually sell out before April, so if you plan on starting a hive in 2023, make sure to order early.

Note: We do not ship bees. Bees are available for pick up only in Elgin Texas. Typically, Nucs arrive within the first two weeks of April. However, due to circumstances beyond our control the actual date may vary based on weather conditions and other factors.

BEE RETURN/REFUND POLICY

Bees are for pick up only. We do not ship bees. We hope that you understand, bees are live animals and are provided “as is” without any warranties. We cannot issue refunds once the bees have left our property.  In the rare event, you find your queen bee is dead upon opening your package of bees or you suspect there is a problem with your nuc of bees, please contact Backroads Apiary immediately so we can help you.  

REFUNDS POLICY BEFORE APRIL 1ST

Orders for packages of bees and nucs of bees may be canceled and refunded with a $50 restocking/cancelation fee until March 31, 2023.

REFUND POLICY APRIL 1ST

There will be no refund if you need to cancel your order starting April 1, 2023, your payment will be forfeited.  If bees are not picked up on the scheduled pickup day, your funds will be forfeited. 

BEE PICK UP

Bee pick up is in April at Elgin Texas. As soon as we have an exact day, we will communicate via email with pick up dates and times. We do our best to keep customers updated as to the arrival date. However, typically we do not know the exact date until a few weeks beforehand. Due to circumstances beyond our control, the arrival date of bees may change.

CONTACT INFO

It is imperative that you provide accurate contact information so that we can communicate with you regarding your order. As soon as an arrival date is known, we will send out an email with important pick-up details. Make sure to respond, so that we know you have received the information. Every attempt will be made to contact you about the bees; however, it is incumbent upon you to pick up the bees at the appointed time stated by Backroads Apiary.