Description

Price & Booking Terms: £310.00

Pay in full, or reserve today with a £70.00 booking fee and settle the remaining £240.00 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 unlikely event we are unable to supply your nucleus colony, 100% of your payment will be refunded immediately.

Established colonies that have successfully overwintered and are headed by a 2026 UK-reared Buckfast queen (mated and marked white). We raise our queens here on the farm from premier imported German and Danish Buckfast breeder stock, open-mated in selected apiaries flooded with Buckfast drones. Bursting with bees, calm, and ready for immediate transfer into a full-sized brood box.

Buckfast bees are renowned for their rapid spring build-up. A well-managed overwintered nucleus can develop quickly enough to take advantage of a late spring honey flow and provide a strong start to the main summer crop (including late heather forage where available). Please note: Because queens mate openly in nature, final temperament and exact honey yields depend on local forage, weather conditions, and ongoing apiary management, and cannot be guaranteed.

Colony Specifications

Frames: 5 British Standard National DN4 frames.
Queen: Laying 2026 UK-reared Buckfast queen (marked white).
Brood & Stores: 3 to 4 frames of brood across all developmental stages (eggs, larvae, and sealed brood) plus at least 1 frame of honey and pollen stores.
Packaging: Supplied in a temporary, ventilated Correx travel box. Please have your permanent hive equipment ready for same-day transfer in the late afternoon or evening.

Colony Health & Wintering

Our nucs spend the winter housed in high-density polystyrene boxes for superior thermal protection. Colonies receive approved autumn varroa treatments and undergo a thorough inspection prior to collection in line with National Bee Unit (NBU) standards.

Collection Logistics

Collection only by appointment from Honeyfields Bee Farm (Mile Tree Lane, Aldermans Green, Coventry, CV2 1NT). To ensure the health and safety of live colonies, we do not courier or post bees.

Handover Protocol & Spring Weather Notice

Early spring weather directly governs how quickly overwintered colonies build up strength, meaning collection readiness can occasionally shift. We will notify you promptly if your nucleus is developing slower than anticipated.

We will contact you by phone and email when your colony is ready for handover. Please confirm your contact information is accurate at checkout. If we cannot reach you, your order moves to the bottom of the allocation queue; reservations unconfirmed after 14 days may be cancelled and the booking deposit forfeited.

Good to Know: Suitable for beekeepers of all experience levels. If you are starting out, we strongly advise completing a local beginners' beekeeping course and registering on the NBU BeeBase portal prior to collection. Please read our Sale of Live Bees Policy and Five Frame Nucleus FAQ before placing your order.

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