2022 Beekeeping Buzz

If your honey bees are wrapped up for winter, then your 2022 season is already underway. For those just exploring the possibilities of beekeeping in 2022, now is the perfect time to get educated and organized. Check out Hiveworld's Beekeeping Academy for a variety of online beekeeping courses. 

Planning for 2022 may have you looking for live bees a bit differently this year.

Getting live bees from overseas has become more difficult in the last few years due to COVID and the lack of overseas flights. However, Hiveworld has successfully brought in package bees from Chile over the past two years-even though the supply chain has had its challenges.

The cost of honey continues to go up as less honey has been produced over the last few years. We are also seeing an increase in demand for live bees in the spring, but there are less supply sources for some live bee products. We expect to see some of the sourcing challenges for live bee products to continue into 2022. 

This is why we are adapting and also changing how we approach beekeeping next spring. In our experience over the past two years, the most reliable source for receiving live bees in the spring has been to order package bees. If you are a new beekeeper, we would usually recommend starting with a nuc. There is still a chance you may be able to get some for 2022, but now that nucs can be much harder to secure, you may want to start out with package bees instead. 

Package Bees For Spring 2022

Package bees can require a bit more attention, but they do have their advantages.  

1. The cost of package bees are typically lower than nucs.
2. There are decreased disease rates associated with package bees because there is no comb, frames or other hive components involved. 
3. You can easily add package bees to your overwintered hive if the bees died. The new bees will love the old honey and comb left behind (check for any mold and feces first and remove by scraping – the bees will do the rest).
4. Package bees can be used to start a new colony.
5. Package bees arrive the earliest in the beekeeping season (beginning in March on Vancouver Island).