Overwintered Nucs & Starter Colonies

Winter-proven queens and locally adapted bees, ready to build fast come spring.

Reserve Yours

An overwintered nuc is a five-frame colony that survived the winter together under the care of its original queen. Unlike a package or a freshly made spring nuc, these bees come with a proven queen, drawn comb, and multi-stage brood already in motion — so they build quickly the moment spring weather breaks. Raised and wintered here in Southeastern North Carolina, our bees are adapted to your climate, weather swings, and regional pests.

The Three Options

  • Overwintered Starter Colony — $300

    A complete, ready-to-grow hive with nothing else to buy.

    • Mated, winter-proven queen

    • 8 frames fully drawn with comb

    • 4–6 frames of active brood in all stages

    • Several frames of stored honey and pollen

    • Includes bottom board, 10-frame deep brood box, and outer cover

    Best for beginners who want a full setup ready to go.

  • Overwintered Nuc — $225

    A winter-tested colony ready to transfer into your equipment.

    • Mated, winter-proven queen

    • 3–4 frames of active brood in all stages

    • 5 frames fully drawn with comb

    • Corrugated plastic nuc box, ready to transfer

    Best for established beekeepers expanding with proven stock.

  • Spring Nuc — $200

    A strong, economical start to the season.

    • Mated queen

    • 2–3 frames of active brood in all stages

    • 5 frames in a corrugated plastic nuc box, ready to transfer

    Best for budget-minded beekeepers building up over the summer.

Why Choose an Overwintered Nuc

✓ Proven Queen — a survivor who already steered her colony through a winter
✓ Drawn Comb & Active Brood — no lag time building from scratch
✓ Locally Adapted — bred and wintered for our Southeastern NC climate
✓ First-Year Honey — likely to catch the main spring nectar flow
✓ No Shipping Stress — picked up locally, never boxed on a cross-country truck

How It Works

STEP 1

Reserve

Contact us to reserve your nuc or starter colony. A deposit holds your spot for the season.

STEP 2

Pickup Notification

We'll let you know when your bees are ready. Overwintered stock is typically available in early spring, weather depending.

STEP 3

Transfer & Grow

Pick up locally and move your bees into full-sized equipment right away, giving them room to expand and thrive.

Why Beekeepers Pay the Premium

A proven queen, drawn comb, and a colony already in full swing add up to a head start that's hard to match. Here's what makes the difference.

  • Instead of a brand-new, untested queen, you get a survivor. She has already steered a colony through winter, proving her resilience and genetics. Because she is mature and established on drawn comb, she begins laying at a strong pace as soon as spring weather breaks.

  • Packages and fresh spring nucs have a lag time — they build comb from scratch or were assembled just weeks before sale. An overwintered nuc comes out of winter with a tightly clustered, synchronized team and multi-stage brood: eggs, larvae, and capped pupae. With no shipping stress, they grow into a production colony weeks faster.

  • Our bees are raised and wintered right here in your climate zone, genetically predisposed to handle your specific winters, weather fluctuations, and regional pests.

  • Packages usually spend their first summer just building numbers and drawing comb, so a first-year harvest is rare. Overwintered nucs start with a head start and are highly likely to catch the main spring nectar flow — potentially giving you honey in their very first season.

Be ready for a fast start

Overwintered colonies build up quickly — that's the whole advantage. It also means they can feel crowded early and may look to swarm if they run out of room. Have your equipment ready and plan to move them into a full 8- or 10-frame hive body soon after pickup, so all that momentum goes into growth instead of swarming.

Reserve Your Nuc or Starter Colony

Tell us what you're looking for and we'll follow up with current availability, pickup dates, and how to hold your spot. Overwintered stock is limited and reserved first-come.