5-Frame Nucleus Colony

Our 5-frame nucleus colonies (nucs) are established starter colonies designed to help you get your new hive off to a strong start.

BEES ARE FOR FARM PICKUP ONLY — WE DO NOT SHIP BEES.
Our farm is located in Jacksonville, Texas.

Pickup Information

Bee pickup is from 7:00–10:00 AM. Please select your preferred pickup date when placing your order.

Because these are live colonies and spring weather can affect their development, pickup dates are subject to change if necessary due to weather or other conditions outside of our control. If a date needs to be adjusted, we will contact you as soon as possible.

You will receive detailed pickup instructions by email approximately one week before your scheduled pickup date. Please be sure to provide a valid email address when placing your order.

What’s Included

Each nuc includes:

• A 5-frame Pro-Nuc box filled with bees

• A freshly mated 2027 Elzner Farms® queen

• Typically 2–3 frames of brood

• A frame containing pollen and/or honey

• Additional frame for the colony to continue growing

Depending on the development of the colony, the fifth frame may or may not be fully drawn.

The Pro-Nuc box is intended to transport your bees home. You will need to have a full-size hive set up and ready for your bees before pickup so the colony can be transferred promptly.

For a video showing how to transfer your nuc into a hive, click here.

About Our Bees

Our bees stay right here in East Texas year-round, allowing them to forage on local wildflowers and pollinate native blooms throughout the seasons.

Our genetics are Italian-based and selected from the best-performing colonies in our own operation. Year after year, we select queens that perform well in our East Texas conditions and use those colonies to build the next generation of Elzner Farms® bees.

Our apiaries are located in areas with abundant natural forage rather than large-scale monocrop agriculture, helping provide our colonies with access to a diverse range of pollen and nectar sources.

Please Read Before Ordering

These are live animals, not a standard retail or commodity item. Each colony is raised and prepared specifically for its scheduled pickup date and requires appropriate care once it leaves our farm. Please have your hive equipment ready and make arrangements to pick up your bees during your scheduled pickup window.

All bee sales are final. Colonies are created and managed based on the number of nucs reserved for each pickup date.

Pickup dates are a commitment. If you need to change your selected pickup date, please contact us before March 1, 2027. Customer-requested pickup date changes made after March 1 will be subject to a $25 per nuc date-change fee.

Nucs that are not picked up on the scheduled pickup date without prior arrangements will be considered forfeited. Because we are caring for live colonies that have been prepared for a specific pickup date, we cannot hold nucs indefinitely or guarantee availability on a later date. No refunds, credit or replacement will be issued for forfeited nucs.