For anyone (especially those in Texas) who are thinking about starting your first hive, now is the time to place your order for a spring delivery. Beekeeping has become very popular in the past few years so if you wait too long to order, the apiary may no longer be able to fulfill your request. If that happens, you are either stuck waiting for an additional year, or getting lucky enough to catch an early spring/summer swarm.
Your local beekeeper association should be able to give you a list of reputable aparies that supply bees with good traits. The only two I know of in Texas are R Weaver and B Weaver aparies. I personally used B Weaver, and I’ve had great success my first year into beekeeping. I liked that fact that B Weaver had a local pickup option for your package (instead of them arriving in the mail) plus they stopped using chemicals to treat varroa mites in 2001 meaning their bees should be better adapted to cope with these pests.
So if you are thinking about taking the plunge into the exciting world of beekeeping, don’t delay and get your bees ordered!
Urban Beekeeping in Austin, Texas 