Product Description
Greetings, Beekeepers!
Gold Star Honeybees is SOLD OUT of bees for 2023.
Please read and understand our Bee Policies here.
*** We appreciate your interest and your patronage, and we'd like to leave some notes here for those of you who have bees being shipped the week of 5/22.
- By Friday, May 19, you will receive a confirming email from us here at Gold Star Honeybees - containing loads of detail. Please, PLEASE read that email, for the sake of your stress level and that of your bees. It answers about eleventy-seven questions concerning the shipping of bees via USPS, some of which you didn't even realize you had. If you don't see this email by Friday, please reach out to bees@goldstarhoneybees.com and ask us to resend.
- You will receive a separate email containing your tracking information when we purchase the shipping and insurance, and make the labels. That will come automatically from the shipping software. If you don't see this email by Friday, please reach out to bees@goldstarhoneybees.com and ask us to resend.
- The bees will be put into the hands of the USPS on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 23 and 24th. This week's order is a large one, it will take both days to get them all on their way. When your bees are scanned in at the post office, you will see your tracking information become active.
- IGNORE the anticipated delivery date on the tracking. That's calculated for packages that go air mail - bees (due to USPS requirements!) can only travel by ground.
- West Coast locations can take 6-8 days of travel to arrive. Not to worry though. The bees (if not mishandled), can manage up to 10 days in the package. Yes, this can mean that your bees are traveling over the Memorial Day holiday. Don't let this rattle you. The post office often calls beekeepers over holiday weekends. You can encourage that behavior by letting your local post office know that you've got bees coming and asking them to call you ASAP.
- The weather around the country is wildly variable at this time of year. It snowed in Maine just this evening. Some places are very hot, some very cold. The warmer it is, the more food the bees consume during transit. It is always a good idea to be prepared to feed them as soon as you pick them up. You can do that by spraying 1:1 sugar syrup through the screen or by using a very soft brush to paint 1:1 sugar syrup onto the screen, taking care not to break their little bee toes that are sticking through the screen.
- This is the last ship week for 2023. We will not have any more bees available for shipping in 2023.
And one more thing... WE KNOW that it's hard to reach us by phone this time of year. We will get to the voicemails, but it's often quicker to email us. Just a *Pro Tip!*
With lots of love, and sharing your happy anticipation, we thank you from the bottom of our hearts for making us a part of your beekeeping journey.
-- Gold Star Honeybees
Please read and understand our Bee Policies here.
Your order will not process unless you acknowledge by initialing and signing above that you HAVE READ & UNDERSTOOD our Bee Order Policies.
Meanwhile here's the scoop on the bees!
Gold Star Honeybees are raised treatment-free.
They are 3-pound packages with naturally mated, unmarked queens. The queen ships in a small cage of her own, tucked inside the package, along with several attendant bees.
They are raised on small-cell foundation, making them ideal for all hive types where the bees will make their own wax. They are just fine for all other hive types too.
They are "mutt bees" - a very hardy mix of Russian, Italian, and Carniolan genetics.
They are "four season bees" - acclimated to a climate with four seasons and winter hardy! They are raised in northern Georgia, Virginia, Maryland, North Carolina and the great state of Tennessee and they will ship to you from Maryland.
Wondering what ship dates work for your locale?
Visit the Old Farmer's Almanac here - to choose a date that's close to or just after the average last frost in your area.
Wondering how to get the bees into your hive?
Download your FREE Top Bar Hive Start-Up Handbook here - for step by step instructions for hiving bees in your new top bar hive! Oh, you're more of a YouTube fan? Here's a video!
Are you new to top bar hive beekeeping? Visit Amazon (or your favorite local bookstore) for two great how-to books:
- The Thinking Beekeeper - A Guide to Natural Beekeeping in Top Bar Hives
- Advanced Top Bar Beekeeping - Next Steps for the Thinking Beekeeper
Or... do you appreciate remote learning? Wish you could attend a Top Bar Hive Beekeeping Class? Become a Patron and dig in to our Weekend Intensive Top Bar Beekeeping Class on Patreon. It's "Soup to Nuts!" on keeping bees in top bar hives.
