🐝 Welcome to beekeeping
…and welcome to Prime Bees!
However you got here, we’re glad you’re here. We are commercial, professional beekeepers in the Bryan / College Station (or as they’ve recently reordered, College Station / Bryan… progress, folks!) We are beekeepers focused on creating a professional, smooth, easy, and often quick, experience. We sell bees, we sell honey, we host events tailored to your needs, we enjoy community, and we are excited to share what we know.
We sell bees, Aggieland Honey™at our Farm Stand and at select locations, offer tours and personalized experiences at our farm location in South College Station, and take care of bees all over the Brazos Valley and over 15 surrounding counties.
We’ve curated a few quick paths for you in case you’re in a hurry – otherwise, keep scrolling…
lease Bees
✓ lease bees & hive management
✓ hive management
✓ pollination
✓ 1-d-1 Special land and agricultural evaluation management
Buy Bees
✓ Top Bar Nucs
✓Langstroth Nucs
✓ 90 day guaranty
✓ Texas mated queens
✓ Continued support
visit
✓Farm Stand – Buy Honey
✓ Farm Tours & Lessons
✓ Encaustic Art Events
✓ Honey Tasting
✓ Book a Stay
✨ Why Beekeeping?
People find their way to beekeeping a lot of different ways and for many different reasons
- Help support local pollinators & food systems
- Grow your own raw, local honey
- Learn a skill rooted in nature, science, and sustainability
- Find joy in caring for and observing the bees
- Keep bees for special agricultural valuation purposes or as some people refer to it “tax exemptions” with bees.
👋 Just Starting Out? You’re in the Right Place.
We’ve helped hundreds of new beekeepers take their first steps into beekeeping in lots of ways. Through lessons, presentations, field trips, unique experiences, growers and farmers, Air BnB guests, honey customers, landowners, farm stand visitors, we’ve have the pleasure of working with great clients and community members.
We’ve been where you are, and we’ll do our best to simplify the next steps We’re here to walk you through the steps of starting your bee journey as a beginner beekeeper.
If you are leaning towards learning about how to support honey bees and pollinators within your surrounding area, we encourage you to check out these advocate resources or consider donations to organizations such as Project Apis m. which offers practical research grants and advocacy for honey bees, Texas Honey Bee Education Association or other bee advocacy projects, groups, and education.
If you’re still in it to master the art, skill, and practice of beekeeping, here are the next steps:
✅ Step 1: Learn the Basics
Learning about bees before you pick them up is crucial. For some people, it is a long process and others jump in full force. We highly recommend a combination of online/resource learning and hands-on learning. It is helpful to find friends, mentors, and resources within the beekeeping community. Access our Beginner Beekeeping Course (free with your bee purchase!) or our more Expanded Online Course, Beekeeping Lesson, visit with us. Check out our Curated Book List or Curated Resources, or check out the Resources on the Texas Beekeepers Association, the American Beekeepers Federation, and the American Honey Producers.
✅ Step 2: Order Your Bees
We raise healthy, Texas-acclimated honey bees perfect for backyard and hobbyist setups. We intentionally select from proven, well-tolerated bees that includes mite management, temperament, and production. Stock selection is a constant in our operation as we improve our own stock as well as bringing in proven stock to add diversity as needed. Sometimes people decide beekeeping is not for them, but they have land that they’d like to utilize bees for pollination of gardens, crops, and orchards, or for use in exchange for Texas 1-D-1 special agricultural land valuation.
✅ Step 3: Get Your Gear
We highly recommend The Bee Supply for beekeeping products, we love the Ultra Breeze Suit, but frankly, there are so many great bee suits out there in great colors, sizes, and with various needs so find one that appeals to you. You’ll need to prepare your beekeeping location, buy your beekeeping hive equipment, protective gear, smoker, and whatever additional tools and equipment suits your needs.
✅ Step 4: Ask Questions & Get Support
As we mentioned above, having a mentor and joining clubs, attending lessons, learning from online resources and fostering a foundation of continued learning will serve you well in your beekeeping adventure. Bees are very complex creatures and you’ll find that the more we know, the more we have left to learn, much like people.
✨ faqs for new beekeepers
We suggest pre-ordering bees as early in advance as possible and using the wait time to study up and prepare for your new arrival, however, we sell bees nearly year-round.
Yes, you can keep bees in most backyards as long as you have enough space and follow local ordinances. It’s important to be mindful of neighbors, practice best practices, and be willing to adjust as you learn and observe your bees.
Beekeeping typically takes 1–2 hours per week during spring and summer. Fall and winter require less time, but you’ll still want to check on food stores and hive condition occasionally.
New beekeepers should check their bees every 7-14 days during the active season. Frequent inspections help you learn, catch issues early, and become familiar with normal hive behavior.
While it’s not required, we highly recommend taking classes and exploring resources prior to picking up your bees. At Prime Bees, we offer a free online course for all nuc customers that covers the basics and suggest a hands-on course to help build confidence for the first season.
Spring is the ideal time to start beekeeping, as flowers are blooming and nectar is available. Most beekeepers order their bees in winter and receive them between March and May, depending on local climate. We typically have bees availble starting mid-April.
Most new beekeepers start with a nucleus colony (nuc), which includes around a starter colony of worker bees and a laying queen along with resources of food and baby bee brood. This is enough to establish a strong, healthy colony that will grow throughout the season.
To begin beekeeping, you’ll need a hive, protective gear like a veil or suit, a smoker to calm the bees, and a hive tool to help with inspections. As you grow, you may add prefered tools, back-up equipment, and of course room for the bees to grow.
We find that there are pros and cons to everything in life, and hive types are no exceptions. The reality is, both are great, select the hive type that fits your budget, physical abilities, aesthetic preferences, landscape, and desires – the bees do well in both styles.
✨ faqs about prime bees
Absolutely! We lease bees for a variety of reasons and would be happy to help. Whether you’re interested in crop pollination, honey production, or qualifying for Texas 1-d-1 agricultural land valuation, we can typically accommodate. Let us know your acreage and goals, and we’ll help determine what’s needed for your area.
You can find our honey at our self-serve farm stand in South College Station, open daily from sun-up to sun-down. We also offer online ordering through our website and stock Aggieland Honey at select retailers in the Bryan/College Station area. Check our store locator for updated locations!
We breed Texas-mated hybrid honey bees selected from our own proven stock and trusted breeder sources. Our queens are chosen for temperament, productivity, disease resistance, and adaptability to Texas conditions. We’ve selectively bred from Carniolan, Russian, Italian Cordovan, and hybrid lines that meet our high standards for queen performance.
Yes! We offer live bee removals and swarm capture in the Bryan / College Station area. If you spot a swarm or have an established colony in a structure, send us a photo and location details—we’ll provide an estimate and let you know your options.
Yes! We offer nucs, queens, and full hives seasonally. All of our bees are Texas-raised and selected for health, productivity, and gentle temperament. Ordering opens in winter, and pickup typically begins in spring.
We do! Our private beekeeping lessons are tailored to your goals and include hands-on learning with live bees. Whether you’re brand new or looking to expand your skills, we’ll help you build confidence and knowledge in the hive.
Yes! We host interactive farm tours, painting workshops, and seasonal experiences at our bee farm in South College Station. It’s a great way to learn, connect with nature, and enjoy a sweet time with friends or family.