Products and Services
RHBA NUCs
MSABees is able to provide spring certified RHBA NUCs through a year’s long collaboration with Warm Colors Apiary in South Deerfield Mass.
RHBA NUCs - Supplies are limited so order early.
Massachusetts Bee suppliers are required to provide a “Certificate of Health” that is issued by the state of origin’s Apiary Inspector. It is now a requirement of any apiary selling bees in Massachusetts to register and provide the health certificates to our MDAR Apiary Inspector. Inspectors require bees brought from other states to be inspected before they are distributed to Massachusetts beekeepers. Each of our Nucs gets an MDAR inspection sticker from the Apiary Inspector.
All our bees have been raised by an RHBA (Russian Honeybee Breeder Association) member and have been inspected by their state Apiary Inspector before we receive them. They are again inspected by the Massachusetts Apiary Inspectors before we can release them to our customers. A final check is conducted by beekeepers at Morningside Apiary, before handing them out. This is a good system where the apiary and bees must meet certain standards before selling bees to other beekeepers.
Our nucs contain five deep frames. They will have brood, honey, and pollen. A typical nuc will take seven weeks to grow to a size and be ready for pickup. Our queens are new, first-year (raised from a queen cell placed into the nuc), and brood within the nuc will represent the queen’s laying ability. The workers are her offspring and represent the behaviors of the mother Queen.
We do not sell second-year queens in our NUCs as they are more likely to swarm or require early replacement. Our nucs have new (proven) queens, are free of disease, and will be ready for transfer to a ten-frame hive body. Before release to customers, the nuc is inspected confirming it is ready to be picked up.
May nucs come from several RHBA-certified members and queens representing release lines approved by the RHBA board of directors and the ARS-Genetics Bee Lab in Baton Rouge, LA.
We do not substitute medium frames for deeps. All frames are deep frames. Sorry if this is your request. There is simply not enough time to accommodate individual requests.
Morningside Apiary will have nucs and queens raised in western Massachusetts available in June. Please specify if you would prefer a MSABees nuc in June.
Queens - Morningside Apiary has Queens available from May until mid-August. Call 413-374-5756 or check our web page msabees.com, to confirm queens are available. We purchase queens from the best queen breeders we know and raise our RHBA Russian queens for availability in June & July.
Russian Queens (Order from a Certified member Apiary – approved by the Russian Honeybee Breeders Association) – Available June & July.
Morningside Apiary Russian Queens – Available June, July, and August.
We prefer customers to pick up queens at our home apiary in West Springfield, Massachusetts or Harrisville, NH. Queens spend less time in confinement, and proper introduction methods can be discussed improving acceptance by their new colony.
We are not shipping Queens. We cannot guarantee the introduction, or care of Queens once they have been shipped. We will not sell Queens to anyone not known to have the requisite beekeeping skills to properly care for Queens. Improper Queen introduction results in unnecessary loss of Queens. Customers picking up at our apiary will be provided instructions based on their Queen introduction experience and needs.
For more information regarding the history, science and research of the RHBA, I suggest this book:
“Russian Honey Bees” - Tom Rinderer and Steven Coy
In Season NUCs - We will have established colony NUCS available in June & July. These are 5 frame wooden NUCs with all necessary conditions for success.
