Are the Honeybees You’re Getting Working Towards the Solving Pollinator Decline?
SPRING IS ALMOST HERE AND IF YOU STILL NEED BEES… WHY NOT GET BEES THAT ARE WORKING TOWARDS MAKING ALL BEES HAPPIER AND HEALTHIER? FIND OUT HOW…
Another season has gone by and the bees didn’t made it. Sounds like a typical problem here in the midwest, especially in Wisconsin. But in fact…
Your bees were below average last year!
It’s frustrating…
it’s not fair…
You did what you were told…
You’ve tried everything… or have you?
OR MAYBE IT’S NOT YOUR FAULT…
Not All Bees are Created Equal
Some bee stock is better than the others. Do you know why?
It’s because those bee breeders and queen rearers do something different that noone likes to talk about.
They track data.
They vet their bee stock each year by sending off queens and samples of bees to researchers who test them for viability, heartiness, fertility and DNA analyis.
Each of these test give the queens a grade and an overall grade of the colony health.
Where Do Your Bees Come From?
If you’re like most beekeepers… you’ve got a guy. Perfect!
Does he know how the bee supplier cares for his bees?
Did he share that with you? (Just a note… there are many great women who keep bees out there, too! They love working with us… We love working with them!)
Do you know the supplier? More than just the Bee Stock? The grade of the queens? If not, that’s ok. We can help!
Here’s How It Works
We work specifically with suppliers that have been vetted and have built a lasting relationship with us and our partners.
Each year we make sure to track the following items from the packages, nucs and swarms we collect and hand over to our customers.
- The Supplier and Batch
- The Queen Grading
- The specific Bee Stock
- Age of the Package when it arrives to you
- If Requeening is Needed
- DNA sequence, if available
- Presence of disease or pests
Imagine if you knew your bees had a track record… stats that you could look at and know that someone cared enough to measure the health of the bees that are being entrusted to you to care for.
That’s what we want! That’s what we want to give ALL Beekeepers
A promise that we are building a database that can ACTUALLY help determine the causes of colony collapse or support reasons for WHY your colony didn’t make it through the winter.
We Know What We’re Doing
- We have customers in 48 states, the UK, Canada and Mexico
- We have worked with new beekeepers, experienced beekeepers, researchers and data scientists to design our equipment and data collection practices
- We’ve had beekeepers with a combined beekeeping experience of over 55 years of experience working with us for the last 10 years to clarify data
- We are building one of the few databases that can be analyzed beyond just survival. We can narrow down the WHY.
Don’t Trust Us…
“The service and assistance that Beepods provides is wonderful. We call when we are unsure of what is going on in our new hive and they always help us out… and instruct us on how to take care of the issue.”
“You can really tell the health of the hive with this system because you are focused on the bees, rather than the work. The Beepods System and philosophy allows you to focus on this.”
How Your Purchase Helps with
the Pollinator Data Initiative
At Beepods, we have made our Mantra to help the Beekeeper so we can solve the Pollinator Disappearance Problem.
This starts with data and leads to analysis that will help us to go beyond symptoms of dying honey bees and pollinators.
We know that the “Causes of CCD” publicized by the media are the tip of the ICEBERG. As Beekeepers and stewards of the environment, it is our duty and every beekeepers duty to understand how outside influences can affect a colony of honey bees.
This means that every package of bees, every colony of bees every beekeeper we work with is included in our data collection so we can understand why your colony grows and thrives or why your colony may not have the resilience to last through a difficult winter.
We track each nugget to paint a picture of WHY
By purchasing bees from Beepods, you are helping this endeavor.
Thank you!
Last Year in Wisconsin…
Wisconsin Ranked Last in Survival
%
Average Colony Loss
We’ve got a long way to go…
Total Beekeepers Reporting Data
The Benefits
- You’re not alone – Once you buy bees from us, you’ll have access to our beekeepers for the season to ask questions. Think of how much time you’ll save instead of hours searching the internet.
- Anxiety Free Bees – These bees have been vetted and relationships have been built to ensure their quality.
- Helping yourself with data – Whatever the reason you keep bees, we can all get behind healthier bees in the long run.. I mean, they are responsible for ensuring a lot of what we eat!
Consistently Beating the Average
Each year we collect and track data, we consistently beat the average overwintering rates and survival rates of the other beekeepers in the area.
We’ve been training and maintaining hives all over the country, actively collecting data from the suppliers, the beekeepers and the environment to come up with quality, supporting evidence to understand why things are happening.
Data is what we are applying to make this happen.
Buy Bees With Us and Build the Dataset
With us it’s more than just bees…
- Yes… you get BEES. Russians, Italians, Carniolans, hybrids. We have them all. You get a 3 Lb Package, 1 Queen, bee feed or 10 frame Beepod Nuc (the Beepod Nuc is compatible with traditional deeps or standard langstroth equipment supers).
- Clarity on WHERE the bees came from – A short sheet specific to the bees you ordered.
- Access to our training video on how to install your package or Beepods Nuc
But wait, there’s more!
Not only will you get bees, but we want you to have some tools that our experts use.
- Beepods Hive Siting Checklist – the short sheet all of our professional beekeepers use to survey the bee yard and resources in the area
- Monthly “Honey Do Checklists” – our guide to navigating the different months and how to work with your bees differently each month
- 14 Simplest Growing Pollinator Plants Swipe file – The easiest plants to source, grow and support your bees nutrition for all seasons.
Spring is Here!
- We only have a limited supply of bees each year. This is because bees are a scarce resource and unfortunately, we are not the only beekeepers who are working with the suppliers
Beyond Spring, we need to plan our deliveries and work with you to determine the best time for your bees to arrive.
- Nucleus colonies can take some time to grow
- We like to get the pick of the batches if at all possible
- We cannot guarantee that we will have bees available for everyone
We Won’t Leave You Hangin…
- Bees are not a simple thing to take care of. There are lots of variables and we promise we won’t leave you hanging once we have delivered them.
- We promise that if in the first 30 days of your colony, if your queen is not doing her job, we will make sure you have a queen that is.
BEEPODS 3 Lb Package for $175
Click below to get your 3 Lb Package of Bees
BEEPODS NUC for $275
Click below to get your Bees
P.S. Just remember, you are getting more than bees. You’re getting data collection coaching , a queen guarantee and you’re helpinig us to accomplish our mission. Quality Beekepers Trained to Track data to help us solve the Pollinator Disapearance Problem.
3 Lb Packages
Italians, Carniolans, Russians, Buckfast, Hybrids- 3 Lbs of bees, queen and jar of feed
- Initial documentation of the colony bee stock
- Access to Bee Installation Guide
- Queen Replacement within 30 days
- Not Included: Bee Delivery and/or Installation
- Not Included: Bee Yard Setup and Hive Siting Blueprint
10-frame Beepods Nucs
Italians, Carniolans, Buckfast ,Hybrids (Equipment deposit)- A Healthy Colony with Drawn Bars of Comb
- Documentation of Colony Health and Stock
- Access to Bee Installation Guide
- Queen Replacement within 30 days
- Not Included: Bee Delivery/and or Installation
- Not Included: Bee Yard Set and Hive Siting Blueprint or Pro Beekeeper Coaching
Frequently Asked Questions
Why does bee data matter?
Beekeeping has lagged behind every other domesticated animal in terms of research for years. Part of the reason we have more questions than answers when it comes to why bees are disappearing is because there is no data set that can be analyzed the way we look at cows, chickens, dogs or cats.
Our mission is to help build a database that can be analyzed not only for survival, but help in identifying the root causes of the symptoms that are prevalent around the globe. When bees ‘disappear’, the reason is not typically the first cause suggested…
Usually it is a combination of things that have created a ripple effect.
We are working to understand each of those with data.
What will you do with my bee data?
Your data will be entered into our anonymous database as a data point. We will work internally with our data science team to be sure that your data remains safe and is used only for research purposes. If it is used for research, your name will not be tied to it at all.
Is there a Queen Guarantee?
Yes, if in the first 30 days, your queen is not producing at the rate she should be, let us know and we will send you a new queen. If this is the case, our beekeepers may ask you some questions about lack of productivity, supercedures, and other things that may be happening in the hive, just in case, so we don’t create more work for the colony.
Do you Deliver?
Yes. We can deliver your bees to your bee yard. We will schedule a time to deliver these to your house or yard by calling and scheduling a time. This will cost $50 or more depending on where your yard is located.
Do you Do Installs?
Yes. We can deliver and install your bees at your bee yard. We will schedule a time to deliver/install these to your house or yard by calling and scheduling a time. This will cost $100 or more depending on where your yard is located.
Do you do onsite training?
Yes. We can work with you and your beekeepers to provide onsite training. This will take some scheduling and is typically best suited for at least a couple of weeks after the bees have been installed.
This ensures that your training session is the most valuable it can be. The bees will have some comb drawn, brood may begin hatching and your bees will be collecting nectar, pollen and other resources from nature.
Do you provide Beekeeping Inspection and Care Services?
Yes. We can schedule a time to come out to your bee yard and inspect your bees with you or without you. We understand everyone is busy and sometimes it’s just nice to know that they are being cared for, even if you cannot be the one to do it. If there are questions or inquiries about this, please, contact us directly at sales@beepods.com or call us at (608) 728.8233 and we will be sure to discuss your needs.
If I decide to not pursue beekeeping this season, can I cancel my order?
The short answer is yes. Although we would be very disappointed with this, we understand that life happens. In this case, please, get in touch to discuss. This is not a simple fix because now we need to find the bees a new home, which is not always easy to do. We hope that if you are ordering, you have committed to raising a healthy colony this year with our professional beekeepers’ help.
When will I know where to pick up my bees and where?
Each season this changes. Bees arrive like a baby arriving. We don’t know exactly when, but we have a pretty good estimation. When this happens, we will be in touch via email and possibly phone to let you know when and where you will need to pick up your bees.
But…
If you are too busy for this type of last minute notification, we do have delivery and installation services available.