- Pay in full, or reserve today with a £70.00 booking fee and settle the remaining £295.00 balance prior to collection.
- Booking fees are refundable up until all nuclei of this batch are fully booked. After this allocation threshold, deposits become non-refundable.
- In the event we cannot supply your nucleus colony, 100% of your payment will be refunded immediately.
Established, high-performance colonies that have successfully overwintered and are headed by a 2026 UK-reared Buckfast queen (mated and marked white). We rear our queens here on the farm from premier imported German and Danish Buckfast breeding stock, open-mated in selected apiaries flooded with Buckfast drones. Full of bees, calm, and ready for immediate transfer into a full-sized brood box.
Buckfast bees are renowned for rapid spring development. A well-managed overwintered nucleus can build up quickly enough to capture a late spring honey flow and provide a strong start to the summer nectar flow (including heather where available). Please note: Because queens mate openly in nature, colony temperament and specific honey yields depend on local forage, seasonal weather, and apiary management, and cannot be guaranteed.
Colony Specifications
- Frames: 6 British Standard National DN4 frames.
- Queen: Vigorous, laying 2026 UK-reared Buckfast queen (marked white).
- Brood & Stores: Healthy brood across all developmental stages (eggs, larvae, and sealed brood) plus abundant reserves of honey and pollen.
- Included Travel Box: Supplied in a heavy-duty, reusable polystyrene nuc box (yours to keep). Please transfer the colony into your full-size hive promptly after collection to avoid congestion and swarming.
Colony Health & Wintering
Wintered in insulated high-density polystyrene boxes for superior thermal control. Treated in autumn with approved veterinary varroa controls, and thoroughly inspected prior to handover following National Bee Unit (NBU) standards.
Collection Logistics
Collection only by appointment from Honeyfields Bee Farm (Mile Tree Lane, Aldermans Green, Coventry, CV2 1NT). To protect colony welfare and bee health, we do not courier or post live bees.
Collection Scheduling & Contact Protocol
We will notify you via phone and email as soon as your nucleus is ready for collection. Please ensure your contact details are accurate at checkout. If we cannot reach you, your order moves to the bottom of the allocation schedule. If contact cannot be established after 14 days, the order may be cancelled and your booking deposit forfeited.
Good to Know: Suitable for beekeepers of all experience levels. Beginners are strongly encouraged to attend a local association training course and register on the NBU BeeBase portal prior to collection. Please review our Sale of Live Bees Policy and Five Frame Nucleus FAQ before placing your order.
