Several have asked about packages.  I am hesitant to mention this as we
may be swamped......
 
    We will have a LIMITED SUPPLY of bees available by mid-April.  They are
reasonably priced, but there are conditions:
 
1.  The first money takes them:  To accept a definite order we'll have to
have a deposit of at least 50%.  We'll book no more than half of what we
think we can supply in a normal year.  We know how screwed up things were
last year. If you want to take your chances later, there may or may not be
more.
 
2.  If you want packages, you'll have to come help shake them.  If weather
patterns are normal, we'll start about April 1.  If warm, perhaps a bit
earlier; if cold, it may be a week or more later.  We expect to take packages
until about April 20. You buy the bees by the pound, and supply cages & syrup
cans.  We have syrup if you wish. You provide queens, or we'll have a limited
supply. We can use selected '96 queens if you like. (I've done it myself many
times. And many of them have not yet had a full season of laying anyway.)
 
3.  If you want nucs, you get the boxes to us by mid-March.  We fill them;
you pick them up April 20 - May 1.  Alternative: we put the nucs in
disposable boxes at your cost.  My policy on nucs is to have 15 or 20% over
the required amount. You check: you can select from them.  You and I know
there are always some dingalings, especially if the queens are mating during
a rainy spell.    I suspect I won't have time enough to check every one.
 Every nuc will leave here with an Apistan strip.
 
   We're not trying to be hard-nosed on this, just realistic.  We have
regular pollination customers to supply, and we are going to try for more
honey this year.  We have a very limited labor supply, with Mom & Pop, and
some temporary help.
 
   Frankly, I recommend nucs over packages.  Packages will go downhill for
awhile, until new brood starts hatching.  Nucs will have hatching brood the
day you recive them, so they will build much more rapidly.
 
   If I were in the cold Northeast, I'd sure enjoy a few days of spring in
South Carolina, where spring is 4 - 6 weeks earlier.  It might not be cost
effective as a business expense, but a lot of folks sure like to come lay on
the beach at that time.  Myrtle Beach is about 45 miles, if you want to come
work, while the family plays.
 
    Once loaded, though, you'll need to roll.  Bees don't wait for our
convenience.
 
[log in to unmask]    Dave Green,  PO Box 1200,  Hemingway,  SC
29554        (Dave & Jan's Pollination Service,  Pot o'Gold Honey Co.)
 
Pollination for lay people, students, teachers
....Of bees, beekeepers, and food
http://users.aol.com/queenbjan/primbees.htm
 
Pollination for the pros - those involved in doing it:
Practical Pollination Home Page            Dave & Janice Green
http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light         Varietal Honeys and Gift Sets
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm