Bees-Starter/Nucleus Colony-Purdue Mite-biter aka Indiana Leg-chewers

We are not selling nucs in 2026. 

This because of the Bee Die-off of 2024-25; we are reselecting stock that is resistant to virus and Nosema based stressors. This is a rebuilding year. 

Queen still available starting late-May.

We love our friendly little honey bees, and the honey that the work so hard to make. We now sell both honey and honey bees. Always Summer Herbs is participating with other bee breeders to raise bees that do not require chemical treatments. We have been awarded 7 grants from the US Department of Agriculture, by the Northeast Sustainable Agriculture Experiment (NESARE and SSARE) grant program.  We are now a part an initiative with both Purdue and Penn State Universities breeding bees that bite the legs off of the varroa mites which have been plaguing them.  We believe happy hardy honeybees are the future.

Purdue Mite-biters are from the Harpur Lab selected for chewing, and honey production.

They tend to be lighter and produce more honey.  Honey production tends to be over 120 pounds, and overwintering in larger clusters. They are very hygienic showing brood removal when we test them using Kaira Wagoner's UBO or Buchler (pin-killed brood) assays.