Overwintered Buckfast Nucleus Colony 2027

Available Spring 2027 – Collection or Royal Mail Special Delivery

This listing is for a £50 non-refundable deposit only. The total price of each overwintered nucleus colony is £250, leaving a balance of £200 payable before collection or dispatch. The outstanding balance will be invoiced prior to your collection or dispatch date and must be paid in full in accordance with our Terms & Conditions.

An additional £35 delivery charge applies where Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day is selected.

If you require the delivery option, please state this in the order notes when placing your order. The £35 delivery charge will then be added to your final invoice.

Our premium Overwintered Buckfast Nucleus Colonies are carefully raised and successfully overwintered in our Oxfordshire apiaries, giving you a strong, established colony ready to thrive as soon as the season begins.

Each nucleus colony is headed by one of our own UK-bred Buckfast queen bees, bred from carefully selected breeding stock within our own breeding programme. Our breeding programme focuses on producing queens with excellent temperament, strong brood patterns, good productivity, and reliable overwintering performance, making them suitable for both hobbyist and commercial beekeepers.

Every queen is marked with the internationally recognised colour for her year of origin to aid identification during hive inspections. Please note that, although queens are marked before sale, the paint mark may naturally become worn or rubbed off over time through normal activity within the colony. This does not affect the queen's health or performance.

Each overwintered nuc is supplied in a 5-frame correx travel nuc box, suitable for transporting your bees safely. The correx box is included in the purchase price and does not need to be returned.

Every overwintered nuc is supplied on 5 National brood frames and will typically include:

• One of our own UK-bred Buckfast queen bees

• A healthy population of overwintered worker bees

• Frames containing brood in all stages, weather and seasonal development permitting

• Adequate food stores to support the colony during transfer

• A laying queen with an established brood pattern

• Bees inspected prior to collection or dispatch to ensure they meet our quality standards

By purchasing an overwintered nucleus colony from Jarvis Honey, you're investing in a colony that has already demonstrated its ability to survive a British winter, providing an excellent start to the beekeeping season with reduced establishment time compared with newly created spring nucs.

As a family-run business, we are committed to ethical, sustainable beekeeping and producing healthy, high-quality British-bred bees selected for temperament, health, and productivity.

Collection & Delivery Information

Collection or delivery is available.

Collection

Customers may collect their nucleus colony in person from a designated public collection point near one of our apiaries. Collection dates and times will be arranged in advance.

The What3Words location for the designated collection point will be shared once the final invoice has been settled in full. This location is provided for security and biosecurity purposes and will not be disclosed prior to settlement.

Customers are responsible for transporting their bees safely and securely after collection using suitable transport arrangements.

Once the nucleus colony has been collected, responsibility for its transportation and safe handling passes to the purchaser.

Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day

Nucleus colonies can now also be sent by Royal Mail Special Delivery Next Day for an additional £35 delivery charge.

If you wish to use the delivery option, please select/state this in the order notes when placing your order. The £35 delivery charge will be added to your final invoice amount.

Delivery will be arranged once the colony is ready and suitable for dispatch, subject to weather conditions, colony development, bee welfare, and Royal Mail service availability.

Customers choosing delivery are responsible for ensuring that someone is available to receive the bees safely and promptly upon delivery.

Delivery dates may be adjusted if necessary due to weather conditions, colony development, or bee welfare. The health and wellbeing of our bees will always take priority.

Payment & Deposit

The £50 deposit is non-refundable and secures your reservation. The deposit is subject to our Terms & Conditions.

The remaining £200 balance, together with the £35 delivery charge where Royal Mail delivery is selected, must be paid in full upon receipt of your final invoice and before collection or dispatch.

For collection orders, the What3Words location will only be provided once the final invoice has been settled in full.

Failure to pay the outstanding balance by the specified date may result in the cancellation of your order and forfeiture of your deposit.

All purchases are subject to our full Terms & Conditions.