Bee swarms, queens and nucleus colonies

Boost Your Apiary with Healthy Bees and Queens

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Bee Swarms, Queens and Nuclei · Iberica and Buckfast

Bee swarms, queens and nucleus colonies

Booking bee swarms, queens and nucleus colonies isn't buying material — it's buying the whole season.

Live stock (bee swarms, selected queens and brood nucleus colonies) is the first decision that defines the whole beekeeping campaign. Genetic quality, source health and delivery timing decide how much a colony yields in its first year — and how much extra work it gives you afterwards. In this category you can book Iberian and Buckfast bee packages, Langstroth and Layens nucleus colonies with an already accepted queen, and single queens (virgin, mated or instrumentally inseminated) to replace existing colony heads. Deliveries scheduled to the Iberian beekeeping calendar.

Types: bee swarms, nuclei and queens

Three formats cover the three typical beekeeper scenarios:

  • Bee package — roughly 1.2 kg of bees (~12,000 workers) without frames, with the queen caged behind a candy plug. Designed to start an empty hive or reinforce a weak colony. Needs 6-8 weeks to draw full frames. Cheaper than a nucleus.
  • Nucleus colony — 4-6 frames with sealed brood, open brood, honey and pollen stores, and an accepted laying queen. The fastest option: the colony is operational from day one. Langstroth (480×232 mm frame) and Layens (300×370 mm frame) are not interchangeable — buy the format that matches the destination hive.
  • Single queen — to replace the head of an existing colony. Three types: virgin (to be mated in your own apiary, lower genetic control, cheaper), mated (ready to lay, raised in known territory, the standard option) and instrumentally inseminated (II, maximum genetic control for breeding programmes).

Genetics: Iberian versus Buckfast

The Apis mellifera mellifera iberica is the native bee of the Iberian Peninsula, naturally selected over thousands of years against drought, short bloom windows and extreme temperatures. More defensive than other races, it propolises heavily and swarms easily, but overwinters on its own in harsh zones where other races cannot. The Buckfast is a composite race created by Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey through selected crosses (Italica, Anatolica, Saharienne, Carnica), oriented to productivity, gentleness and low swarming tendency — a good choice for the beekeeper near public traffic, the professional with many hives, or for replacing queens in problematic colonies. The choice depends on the beekeeper's profile, not on any absolute superiority of one race over the other.

Calendar, booking and receiving

The delivery season runs from March to June, adjusted to the destination apiary's latitude: southern Iberia in February-March, the centre in March-April, the north and mountain areas in April-June. Booking early (October to February) is the norm — producers work from a waiting list and out-of-season availability is essentially zero. On receipt of a nucleus or package, leave it untouched for 24 hours at the final location, open the entrance at dusk, feed with 1:1 syrup for the first days if there is no nectar flow, and check for young brood within two weeks. Caged queens are released gradually with a candy plug over 3-5 days so the workers accept her pheromone before liberation.

📋 Traceability and health

All live stock ships with REGA origin and destination certificate, the sending apiary's ID number and a health document certifying absence of Aethina tumida (small hive beetle) and Asian-hornet-free zones under Spanish RD 608/2006 where applicable. The receiving beekeeper must declare the entry to the regional Movement Control Centre and update the apiary register. If you work in an area under Asian hornet pressure, also consider protection with dedicated anti-velutina suits before the first inspection.

A curated range of bee packages, queens and nucleus colonies for hobby, semi-professional and professional beekeepers. Iberian and Buckfast genetics, Langstroth and Layens formats, deliveries scheduled within the Iberian beekeeping season.