Warm Colors Apiary was founded in 2000 to produce fine regional honeys from western Massachusetts. Located on eighty acres of woodland, open fields and wetlands, the land provides a variety and abundance of nectar & pollen plants from early spring to late fall. Our mission is to develop, test and use beekeeping methods that improve the health of the honeybee. Through selective breeding we endeavor to manage a sustainable apiary system that minimizes the use of harmful chemicals, and employs the natural defenses and heritable behaviors that increase mite tolerance and strengthen the honeybee’s resistance to disease. Our goal is to raise honeybees capable of surviving the rigors of our New England winters, and having the individual & social immunities to withstand the stresses associated with honeybee decline. Our work focuses on using the best breeding stock, providing nutrition using natural sources of forage, and the early detection & prevention of disease and pests.
- Russian Nucs are now available for pickup. Please schedule an appointment for picking up your Nucs. Call 413-665-4513 and leave a message indicating which day is best for a morning pickup. We are handing out Nucs on Wed 5/24, Fri 5/26, & Sat 5/27. Nucs should be picked up in the morning 8-10AM. Late day pickups are more stressful to bees. We will hive Nucs not collected after Saturday May 27th. See “Bee Orders” page for instructions.
Italian, Carniolan, and Russian queens are available for pickup at Warm Colors Apiary, South Deerfield, Massachusetts. See the “Bee Orders” page for prices & details.
A few people missed picking up package bees. If you missed the scheduled pickup weeks you need to contact us after Nucs have been distributed, to make arrangements for bees.
We have a few openings for our “Spring Management” workshop Sunday, May 21st from 1:00 – 3:30PM. See our “Workshops” page for a description, and the workshop registration form.