Hello! Just a couple of days until the bees arrive. For pickup, we are offering the following options:
Friday (4/25) evening, from 6 to 7pm. The store will not be open during this time (if you need pollen patties, feeders or other supplies.) Please confirm if you are choosing this option.
Saturday (4/26), from 7am to 3pm. We will be ready to distribute bees at 7am and will continue throughout the day through regular store hours (Store is open 8am – 3pm on Saturdays.) You do not need an appointment.
(If you have already discussed pickup with me, there is no need to re-confirm anything!)
Pickup is in the garage, at the far end of the building. If you need to stop into the store for pollen patties, feeders, or any other supplies, we recommend doing so before getting your bees. Park near the garage, along Grain Store Rd. I’ll be outside with a clipboard – you do not need your receipt; we have a record of your order.
There will be a lot going on at Erskine’s this weekend – our first big round of chicks arrives Friday, with over a thousand peeping chicks, ducklings, quail and guinea fowl. We are hosting Hank Ainley and Marina Garland’s bare-root tree sale on Saturday from 10am-2pm. They’re bringing a great variety of native fruit and nut trees, pollinator friendly shrubs and trees and grafted fruit trees from their Weathersfield nursery. I strongly encourage you to check that out!
And since we know life gets complicated, if you are not able to pick up Friday or Saturday during the times listed, please contact me directly at janessa@erskinesgrain.com.
Thank you for ordering your bees from Erskine’s!
Erskine’s Grain & Garden is now taking orders for Honeybee packages, nucleus colonies and replacement queens. We’re excited to offer four types of honeybees for the 2025 season: Italians, Russian Hybrids, Carniolans and Caucasians. Each 3 lb. package of bees includes a mated queen. Russian Hybrid Nucleus Colonies include 5 deep frames of brood, pollen & honey, bees and mated queen.
Early ordering is encouraged! Click through to the order form for pricing details.
Call 802-875-2333 or stop by the store to order bees.
Please note that pickup dates may change, and we will notify you ASAP if the date for your order changes! We expect pick-up date for packages, nucs and queens to be Saturday, April 19 April 26. [As of 3/7/2025, per our supplier, pickup date has changed to April 26.]
Italian Honeybee
Italians are well known as gentle and easy to manage, prolific brood producers, highly hygienic, good comb builders, excellent foragers and honey producers.
Carniolan Honeybee
This breed is known for calm and docile behavior on the comb and an excellent sense of orientation/direction. The brood is highly resistant to diseases and parasites. They also boast reduced consumption over winter, explosive spring buildup, less prone to robbing, and don’t use excessive amounts of propolis in the hive.
Russian Hybrid Honeybee
Strengths include excellence at wintering, good resistance to varroa and tracheal mites, high honey yield, and the ability to rear massive amounts of brood in short times to closely follow times of nectar and pollen flow.
Caucasian Honeybee
NEW to Erskine’s! Becoming more popular due to their longer tongues increasing honey production and their ability to thrive in colder climates, Caucasians are similar to Italians in production and like Carniolan in temperament.
Terms and Conditions
1. The customer understands and acknowledges that bees and nucs are living creatures and are perishable. Erskine’s Grain & Garden will not be responsible or liable for loss of bees or nucs due to overheating once they are received by the customer. It is the responsibility and duty of the customer to ensure that packages and nucs are kept cool and out of direct sun until they are installed in hives.
2. Returns & Refunds: There are no returns or refunds once the customer accepts the bee package or nuc at our store in Chester Vermont.