Quality European Honey Bees For Sale
Honey Bee Nucs For Sale By a Beekeeper, For Beekeepers
Why Buy Bees From Us & Who Are We?
At Dee Valley Bees, we leverage over 25 years of beekeeping expertise to produce and supply quality, queenright 5-frame honey bee nucs (a nuc of bees refers to a nucleus colony). If you’re looking to buy bees and produce your raw honey, we provide bee nucs maintained to the highest standards of quality, ensuring healthy colonies ready to thrive.
Our customers are typically individuals passionate about supporting the environment and eager to boost pollinator populations, and excited to taste the rewards of their own homegrown honey. Alongside this ecological benefit, you also gain the rewarding advantage of harvesting one of nature’s finest products: pure, delicious honey.
We primarily serve customers across the North West UK and North Wales, including Cheshire, Merseyside, and Manchester.
Our honey bees are priced for hassle-free collection, but personal delivery can also be arranged at an additional cost. To maintain the highest standards and ensure the safety and well-being of our bees, we do not dispatch bee colonies through postal or courier systems.
Our Premium Pollinator Nuc Range
Each year, we typically have around 40 nucs of honey bees available, each housed in a durable poly nuc box. Our nucs feature a high-quality, mated queen honey bee that has successfully overwintered from the previous summer, ensuring robust hive sustainability and gentle temperament.
To easily identify and manage hive health, we mark each queen with a specific colour that rotates every 5 years, for instance, note the red spot on the honey bee queen in the image above.
Our bee nucs are ready for the new season from early May each year, depending on weather conditions, making them ideal for beekeepers looking to expand or establish strong colonies. Deposits to secure your nuc can be made from March onward.
For further details and to reserve your nuc, please visit our Contact Page.
What’s Included in a 5-Frame Bee Nuc
Our bee nucs for sale are complete, well-balanced starter colonies, carefully prepared to give your hive the best possible start. Each 5-frame nuc includes a healthy, mated queen, a strong population of worker bees, brood at all stages and frames containing honey and pollen.
These honey bee nucs for sale arrive ready to transfer into your hive, allowing the colony to settle quickly and begin growing immediately. Whether you are new to beekeeping or expanding an apiary, our nucleus colonies for sale are designed to thrive in UK conditions from day one.
Why Overwintered Bee Nucs Are a Better Choice
All of our overwintered bee nucs are headed by queens that have already successfully survived a UK winter. This makes them a reliable option for beekeepers looking to buy nucs in the UK with confidence.
Overwintered queens are more mature, begin laying earlier in spring and lead stronger, more stable colonies. The result is faster early-season development, reduced risk of queen failure and a smoother start to the beekeeping year.
Bee Nuc Availability for the 2026 Season
Our 5-frame bee nucs for the 2026 season will be available from April onwards, depending on weather and colony development. All nucs are prepared with care, ensuring strong populations, healthy queens and adequate food stores before collection.
Local pickup is available near Chester and across the North West. Availability is limited each year, so early reservation is recommended. If you are comparing bee nuc UK price options, our focus is always on colony health, welfare and long-term success rather than volume.
The Honey Bees
We take pride in maintaining the highest standards to supply good quality, gentle temperament honey bees with a healthy, mated queen, making them ideal for both novice and experienced beekeepers. Although honey bees are generally resilient, they remain livestock and can be susceptible to diseases, predators, and environmental stress. Our experienced beekeepers ensure each honey bee nuc is handled carefully and transferred from our base to customers to minimise these risks.
Our nucs consist of 5 frames, typically comprising around 3 frames of brood and eggs at varying stages of development and 2 to 3 frames containing stores of honey, nectar and pollen, complete with clustering honey bees and a mated queen. Pricing is calculated pro rata, and all nucs are dispatched securely in a plastic transportation box.
Please note that if honey bee nucs remain uncollected after a deposit is paid, a weekly maintenance and inspection fee will apply to mitigate the risk of swarming.
While honey bees can naturally thrive in the wild, managing hive colonies offers significant benefits, particularly in overseeing bee health and effectively treating parasites and diseases. For more detailed information, including guidance on managing Varroa mites, please refer to our FAQ section.
Why Should I Start Beekeeping?
Rewards Awaiting Beginners
When you begin your beekeeping journey, you’ll quickly discover the joys and challenges that come with caring for honey bees. Yes, you’ll sweat in your bee suit and likely receive a gentle reminder from your bees’ temperament through a sting or two. But soon, the reward of your honey will be unmatched.
Enhanced Wellbeing
As a beginner, you’ll find great personal satisfaction knowing your efforts directly support the environment. By nurturing a thriving colony of honey bees, you’re actively promoting pollination, essential for maintaining the health of plants and trees across the UK. Your gentle-tempered honey bee colony not only supports biodiversity but also safeguards these vital pollinators themselves.
Delicious Honey
Of course, one of the most tangible rewards of beekeeping is honey! Producing your own honey is immensely rewarding, both personally and practically. While comprehensive honey production methods and detailed bee management strategies such as disease treatment and hive maintenance are beyond the scope of this site, our blog offers valuable tips and advice to support those new to beekeeping.
As specialist suppliers of honey bee nuclei (nucs), we’re committed to helping beginners successfully start their beekeeping journeys. Explore our resources to take your first confident steps into the rewarding world of beekeeping.
Nucs of Bees and Apiaries FAQs
What breed of bees will I be getting?
The variety of bee is the European Honey Bee. The queens that are chosen for our breeding programme are selected for their quality traits.
What does 'queenright' mean?
This means that there is a healthy laying queen in the nuc.
How many frames will I receive?
Our nucs have 5 frames. Of the 5 frames approx. 2-3 frames of brood and eggs at various stages with adhering bees including the queen and approx. 2 frames of stores -nectar and pollen.
What is the price of the nuc?
The price for the nucs is £280.00 collected and the deposit is £50
Do you ship the bee nucs to me?
We make purchase bees hassle free, our bees are advertised as a collected price from Chester.
Collection address – By appointment only:- The Barns, Acres Lane, Upton, Chester, CH2 1LJ.
How should the hives be positioned?
At DV Bees, we recommend positioning the hives in a sheltered location. The location should also allow the beekeeper to work from behind when the hive is open and not in the direct flight path of the bees as they move in and out of the hive.
Should I use a hive stand?
At DV Bees, we advocate using a hive stand for 5 reasons:
- Ergonomics. Easier to work within the hive
- Lifting. To lift brood bodies and supers from a comfortable height.
- Level the hives. Levelling the hives means the frames should be level, and as the foundation is drawn out into cells – which slope up – they should be equal on both sides.
- Ventilation. Assist in ventilation around the hive.
- Damp Source. Elevate away from the damp source from the ground.
How do I choose the right location for my new nuc?
Selecting the right spot for your nuc is essential for its health and growth. Choose a sheltered, sunny area with good airflow, away from strong winds and excessive shade. A stable, level surface ensures the colony can expand safely, while proximity to natural forage like flowers and hedgerows helps the bees thrive.
Can I combine multiple nucs into a single hive?
Yes, combining nucs is possible once each colony is established and strong. It should be done carefully to minimise stress and fighting between bees, typically using a newspaper method to gradually introduce the colonies. Combining nucs can help boost colony size quickly and prepare for a productive season.
What inspections should I perform during the first few weeks?
Early inspections focus on queen activity, brood developmen, and food stores. Check that the queen is laying consistently, that there are no signs of disease, and that workers have access to honey and pollen. Early monitoring helps detect potential problems before they affect the colony.
Are Dee Valley Bees nucs suitable for both beginners and experienced beekeepers?
Absolutely. Our 5-frame nucs are designed to be accessible for beginners, arriving ready-to-go with a healthy queen and established worker population. At the same time, experienced beekeepers appreciate the strong foundation and quality of our UK-reared colonies, which are ideal for expanding an existing apiary or increasing honey production.
FAQs for Purchasing and Transporting Bees
Do I need to feed my nucleus colony?
We recommend you do. Comb is drawn from foundation predominately in a nectar flow, which typically is May and early June; outside of this flow the bees are very reluctant to draw comb.
What do I feed my bees with?
We find sugar syrup works well for us – 1 kilo of sugar to 1 litre of water.
Warm weather and swarms?
Because swarms are a risk – particularly in Maytime – it is urgent to get the frames transferred from the transport box to the hive.
Do I need to treat for Varroa?
Varroa mites are widespread. You do need to do observe the bees carefully. Take professional advice from British Beekeeping Association, or other reliable sources. Vigilance is needed to check for Varroa mites, treat as recommended by the pharmaceutical suppliers.
What do I need to know about deposits and payments?
Once a deposit is paid we will supply the nucleus of bees as ordered, once the full payment is cleared. In the unlikely event of non-supply due to very poor weather or other catastrophe, we will refund the deposit within 7 days. Should a nuc remain uncollected, we will need to check it for swarms and there will be a weekly charge for this.
Once the nucleus of bees has been supplied, we regret that we cannot be held responsible for their welfare.
In the event of a successful claim, this will be limited to the full purchase value of the nucleus colony.
How are the bees transported?
Transport boxes are used to transport the nucleus of bees on 5 National Hive Frames. These boxes need to be handled with care to ensure safe transport of the bees. Ensure they are properly stowed so the box is secure, and the perforated vents on the front and rear are positioned to allow ventilation.
If required, we can supply 7 extra National Hive Frames complete with new foundation.