Erskine’s Grain & Garden is now taking orders for Honeybee packages and nucleus colonies. We’re excited to offer four types for the 2026 season: Italians, Russian Hybrids, Carniolans and Caucasians.
Italians, Carniolans and Caucasians are available as package bees – Each 3 lb. package of bees includes a mated queen.
Russian Hybrids and Italians are available in nucs – Each nuc includes 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 the pick-up date for bees to be during the week of April 20, 2026.
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.