News & Events
* UPCOMING *
Maple Sugaring Day
Saturday, February 28, 11am-3pm at MassAudubon's Boston Nature Center.
This family-friendly event is ideal for anyone wanting to learn how to tap locally, and also perfect if you simply want to get outside and stand in the sweet steam of boiling maple sap. Plenty of indoor kiddie activities, too. Come with questions. For more info and registration, click HERE.
Spring's coming!
Despite our wonderfully 'normal' winter, 2025 was the 2nd or 3rd warmest on record. Average global temperatures are flirting with or have surpassed 1.5° C (2.7° F) above pre-industrial levels. How do we stop the burn?
For other workshops and happenings, check the Workshops calendar here.
Agricultural Hall?
In 1818, the Massachusetts Society for the Promotion of Agriculture built the original Agricultural Hall on Dighton Street in Brighton. It served as the hub of the Brighton Fair and Cattle Show, one of the earliest and largest such fairs in the country. In 1829, "a 17-pound turnip, a 19-pound radish, and a bough on which pears hung like a cluster of grapes were among the outstanding exhibits of that year." In 1844 the building was moved to its present location at the corner of Chestnut Hill Avenue and Washington Street.
Dr. William P. Marchione &
The Bostonian Society
Agricultural Hall
2026 BEES!
Like last year, Agricultural Hall is only selling packages. Ag Hall sold 5-frame nucleus colonies (nucs) for two years, but not this year. Nevertheless, if your heart is set on a nuc, call or send an email and I will share names of local beekeepers selling local nucs.
Bee packages sold by Agricultural Hall are supplied by local dealers (Autumn Morning Farm & Summer Beez) who drive south every spring, pick up 3lb packages from bee-breeder farms (most of which are in Georgia), and hurry back within 24 hours, usually with about 400 - 800 packages in tow! I pick them up within a few hours of their arrival in New England and bring them to Agricultural Hall where you can meet and take home your new bees!
Here's this year's list:
| Variety |
Marked Queen |
Arrival Date (est.) |
Price |
| Buckfast | Yes | Sunday, April 5 (new date!) | $180 |
| Buckfast | No | Sunday, April 5 (new date!) | $180 |
| VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygienic) | Yes | Sunday, April 5 (new date!) | $180 |
| VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygienic) |
No | Sunday, April 5 (new date!) |
$180 |
| VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygienic) |
Yes | Monday, April 13 | $163 |
| VSH (Varroa Sensitive Hygienic) |
No |
Monday, April 13 |
$160 |
| Buckfast |
Yes | Sunday, April 19 |
$180 |
| Buckfast |
No | Sunday, April 19 |
$180 |
To order bees:
Send an email to 2026Bees(at)AgHall.com, and please tell me:
1) How many packages;2) Which variety (Buckfast or VSH);
3) Whether you want a marked or unmarked queen; and
4) Which date you'd prefer.
5) Please also include a phone number where I can reach you in a pinch. (Sometimes things move quickly when the bees come to town.)
I will respond with a confirmation email, along with payment instructions.
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| Some characteristics of VSH & Buckfast stocks: |
VSH: Selective breeding of Varroa Sensitive Hygienic (VSH) bees by the USDA (Pol-line) and independent breeders encourage hygienic/anti-mite behavior; the workers are more likely to remove varroa-infested pupae from capped brood cells before the mite reproductive cycle is complete. They are not guaranteed to survive varroa infestations and, in fact (like all Apis mellifera varieties) they will very likely succumb to mites and/or the many diseases they vector if not managed properly, but VSH bees are generally better at suppressing varroa population growth.
Buckfast: Originally bred over 105 years ago by Brother Adam at Buckfast Abbey in Britain, Buckfasts proved resistant to tracheal mites, then ravaging Britain's honeybee populations. Buckfast are desirable on almost all fronts; brood and honey production are high, swarming drive is low, and continuing breeding programs have also produced Varroa mite-resistant progeny. Little wonder it is sometimes called the "Beekeeper's Bee."
Again, there are always variations from colony to colony, even within varieties.
For more details, see;
https://www.beesource.com/resources/usda/the-different-types-of-honey-bees/
...or do a Web search. There's a lot of info out there!!
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Ordering notes & tips:
> Aim for early bees. It's not unusual to hive packages with snow still on the ground. And if you successfully hive a package by early April, you could be taking honey in June. Later packages seem to merely survive, but not always thrive, ...until year two.
> Dates are estimates. We can hope and cross our fingers, but they'll come when they come. Most arrive on time or, frequently, a day early. Weather is the biggest determinant. Given the cold mid-January storm, I will not be surprised if they're delayed a week or two.
> In general, I will replace dead queens as long as you report them to me within three days of their arrival at Ag Hall.
> I will try to offer replacement queens for virgin and poorly mated queens, but they must be reported to me within 6 days. It is important that you monitor your queen's behavior and productivity thoroughly, and keep the colony well fed and protected from extreme weather until you're certain all is well.
In the last 6 years or so, Georgia bee farmers have shipped far too many under- or unproductive queens in their packages. My supplier has no recourse, so I have no recourse. It's frustrating, but I will do my best to help work through any rough patches should your queen be flawed.
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