NC Pollinators
Busybee Apiaries, Jack Tapp, 1201 New Hope Church Rd., Chapel Hill, NC 27516, 919-942-2006, blueberries,strawberries,watermelons,and cucumbers in the Northern coastal plain of S.C. and Eastern N.C. 600+ hives. (listed 2002)
Henry and Sons Bees, Henry Soloshenko, 10318 Paxton Run Rd., Charlotte, NC 28277, 100 hives for Mid-Atlantic and Eastern US. Any crop. (listed 01-2-10)
Jeff Kish, Charlotte, NC 10-15 colonies available for Charlotte area. 704-779-7346 (Listed 04-2012)
Timothy R. Holt, 132 Holt’s Ln., Siloam, NC 27047, 336-374-4921 or 336-710-4904 ME blueberries (listed 12-26-09)
Lee’s Bees Inc., Jeffery R Lee, 1818 Saddle Club Rd., Mebane, NC 27302, 919-304-3669, 919-949-6140 cell (listed 12-26-09)
LFC Pollination of North Carolina, Charles & Nancy Fleckenstein, 3414 Gibbs Ln., Hillsborough, NC 27278 (919) 732-4134, 100+ hives, Will travel to all of NC, any and all crops considered. (listed 2002)
Mendenhall Family Farms, Chris Mendenhall,
Thomasville NC 27360 336-442-9835 Will travel 25
miles for one hive; go father for multiple hives; 20 hives available, any crops, esp. blueberries, and fruit trees (listed 7-2011)
Walter Moore, 68 Nathan Dudley Rd. Clinton, NC 28328 (listed 2002)
David Owen, 564 Ward Rd., Denton NC 27239 336-859-9778 8 hives, anywhere in NC (listed 2002)
Peaceful Valley Honey, Greg Fariss, Mocksville, NC 27028, (336)-998-2975 (Farmington area), 35 colonies. Cucurbants, blueberries, strawberries and orchards, willing to consider any crop.
Turtle Island Apiaries, Richard Gunderman, Jerry Johnson, 9516 Virgilina Rd. Roxboro, NC 27573 336-322-4222 or 919-608-1320 or 919-608-1338. 200 or more hives. Available NC, SC, VA, WV, MD, PA. (listed 2002)See Also VA: Thom Bradley
See Also VA: Windsong ApiariesBy: Marvin A. Owings, Jr., Hendersonville Co. Agricultural Extension Agent
Pollination season is just around the corner! Bees will be in short supply this season, especially our wild population. Now is the time to contact your beekeeper for bee rentals. Because of the mite problem many beekeepers have gone out of business or cut back the size of their operation.
We recommend using one hive per acre of orchard. This recommendation will provide adequate pollination under our worst weather conditions (in most years).
Place strong hives around the orchard (groups of four) when you see the first king bloom. To make sure hives are strong enough we recommend hives should have 6 frames of brood. Also you should be able to count 75 bees going in and out at the hive within one minute at temperatures of 70 degrees or more on a sunny day.
Hives should be removed from orchards at petal fall. Below is a listing of beekeepers who have hives for rent:
| 1997 List provided by Marvin Owings BEES FOR RENT |
||
|---|---|---|
| #HIVES | NAME PHONE # | ADDRESS |
| 2 | HAROLD BRADLEY 693-4601 | TUXEDO, N.C. |
| 45 | L.C. METCALF | 2250 N. MAIN STREET, HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. |
| 50 | CECIL WORSHAM 693-4565 | 2134 N. MAIN ST., HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. 28739 |
| 25 | STEVE WORLEY 692-8479 | 648 STONEY MTN. ROAD, HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. 28739 |
| 100 | GREG ROGERS 704-298-7639 | 15 GRAHAM RD., ASHEVILLE, NC. |
| 200 | BRIAN BROWN 693-3093 | RT. 6, BOX 85, HENDERSONVILLE, N.C. 28792 |
| 5,000 | DYSON FISHER 1-800-736-6205 | FISHER BEE FARM, LEWISTOWN, PA |
| 200 | ED BUCHANAN 704-669-8936 | 602 BLUE RIDGE ROAD, BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. 28711 |
| 25 | ROY BALLARD 692-7904 | RT. 1, BOX 432, BLACK MOUNTAIN, N.C. 28711 |
| 20 | TIM STAMPER 910-372-2721 | STAR RT. BOX 39-A, SPARTA, N.C. 28675 |