I try to get to the local bee club meetings, there is quite an active community here... Of course living in the heart of WNY farm country is a help. I haven't been able to make a meeting in a while as it collides with church meetings.

The bees I purchased were from Bloomfield Honey and one of the owners has been selectively breeding local queens who are better-suited for our local climate. She has had great success with pest-resistant colonies and all of her colonies are pesticide-free. The NUC was literally bursting with bees when I picked it up on Monday. They didn't even fit in the box! They were clinging to the outside of the box so I made the drive home suited up. I suspect that if I had not, I would have taken the time to clobber a deer for spectacular effect.

They were a bit pissed because we taped some of them to the outside of the box when securing the lid, and the fact they were handled a lot in one night. It was quite an experience transferring them from the NUC box into the super. They are quite happy in their new home now as they have a lot of leg room! More bees now than I had at the peak of late last summer.

I'm giving them a 2-week break, and then I will put a feeder on the top in hopes to flush out one super so I can put on the second super. Not bothering with honey this year, but possibly next year. Mostly got them for curiosity and pollination.