Hello fellow beekeepers- update on this season’s spring queens and nucs:
We have had some interesting spring weather here in the southern Rockies of northern New Mexico- snow on May 1st, May 9th, May 17th and then most recently on May 24th! This has been in between bouts of high winds- which as many know, isn’t condusive to virgin queens and their mating flights.
The late snow and high winds have also devasted the local fruit orchard bloom in the upper Rio Grande valleys where we conduct our spring rearing. We are hopeful that the main nectar flow- which should be occuring now with the bosque bloom is underway, but it has yet to really manifest- we keep our fingers crossed.
So where does this information lead us- well, the weather- and more specifically Mother Nature, has altered our rearing schedule. We anticipated such early on- and began our rearing over a month ago with just a couple of smaller batches. These initial batches of nucs we will begin checking later this third week in May. We have larger batches coming out within a few weeks and upon review, we will then begin calling/emailing folks to schedule pick ups for nucs and for shipping queens.
We, and more specifically, our bees- appreciate your patience. Our hope is to have nucs out to those who have already ordered by mid June. We feel comfortable disseminating nucs through the entire month of June. However, depending on location and seasonal manifestation- it is highly recommended that beekeepers look to offer supplemental food to newly establishing hives. Leaving bees to area forage- which may be compromised by site, can lead to stunting and ultimately- unsuccessful overwintering.
Any questions- please email us at ziaqueenbees@hotmail.com
Or call 505/689-1287. We are at the height of our spring push so catching us on the phone is a true miracle 🙂 However, we do check the messages daily and will try to call back when it isn’t midnight….email works easiest and gets the fastest response time.
Thanks for understanding.
Viva Las Abejas!!!!
M & M- ZQB