Beekeeping costs

Queen bees from a production operation: $25-45. Documented hygienic genetics: $300+. Instrumentally inseminated: over $1,000. Same species, wildly different prices - here's why.

Real honey costs $8-15/lb to produce. Grocery store honey sells for $4-6. That gap isn't markup - it's the difference between real product and something else.

Spring packages cost $150-180. Fall packages - when they're available at all - cost $100-120. The price reflects demand, not the bees.

A package is $150 for 3 pounds of bees and a stranger queen. A nuc is $225 for an established mini-colony. The price gap buys you 4-6 weeks of head start.