We raise premium-quality package bees and distribute them to partners across North America in trucks specially equipped to keep them cool and happy. We breed our bees to be robust and healthy, as well as excellent pollinators and phenomenal honey producers.
To ensure that our bees are as healthy and happy when they reach your hives as they are when they leave ours, we transport them in special, climate-controlled trailers. Formerly refrigerated trucks, they've been re-engineered to keep the bees at a comfortable temperature, with just the right airflow, no matter the distance or the season. And each is driven by a person trained to handle bees. OHB is the only bee producer in the world that has this custom-designed transport system.
It is best to install your packages during the early evening hours, or during sunset. If you have to install earlier in the day, select a very shady area.
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Each package contains 2-3 pounds of bees along with one of our newly mated queens.
We raise top-quality Italian and Carniolan bees as well as a new line of bees called Saskatraz, bred for exceptional honey production and resistance/tolerance to mites.
We recommend Italian bees for beginners, because they're gentle and easy to manage, and they're terrific pollinators and honey producers. We've bred ours to be great housekeepers, too, helping to keep the hives clean and disease-free.
Yes! We sell honey ourselves, so we breed our bees for top-notch honey production.
Very carefully! For detailed instructions (and a helpful video), click here.
We ship individual queens directly from our mating yards; check out our Queens page for info.
Check out our Tutorials page for installation guides and more. Read (and subscribe to) our blog for the latest buzz in the beekeeping world. And come to our annual Hobby Day in Orland, California, to watch demonstrations, buy packages, and meet the Olivarez team!
