On the day you pick up your honey bee nuc, be sure to bring your protective gear, as you will be handling and transporting a live bee hive. When transporting the nucs, place them on a stable surface to prevent them from sliding around or tipping over. Ensure that the vents on each nuc box are unobstructed; insufficient airflow can cause the bees to overheat or die. It is strongly recommended that you transfer the bees from the transport box into the permanent hive box as soon as possible.

Rescheduling Policy – Nuc Pickup

We understand that plans sometimes change, and we will do our best to accommodate rescheduling requests. However, timely pickup is especially important when purchasing live honey bee nucs.

Each nuc is carefully prepared with a mated queen, brood, and a healthy population of worker bees to ensure it is ready for your scheduled pickup date. Because these are growing colonies, even a short delay can lead to overcrowding and increase the risk of swarming.

If a pickup is delayed, we may need to split or otherwise manage the colony to protect the bees' health. This can affect the nuc's readiness and availability for sale.

Rescheduling Requests: Customers must provide at least 48 hours' advance notice before their scheduled pickup date and time to request rescheduling. While we will make every reasonable effort to accommodate these requests, alternate pickup dates are subject to colony readiness and availability and cannot be guaranteed.

Requests made with less than 48 hours' notice may not be accommodated due to the time-sensitive nature of preparing live honey bee colonies.

We strongly encourage customers to pick up their nucs on their scheduled date. Our priority is to provide every customer with a healthy, thriving nuc that is ready for a successful start in its new home.

Thank you for your understanding and for choosing Pop Pop's Apiaries!

We understand that circumstances may change and you may need to cancel your order. However, preparing live honey bees requires advance planning, resources, and a commitment to reserving colonies specifically for your scheduled pickup date. To help offset these costs, the following cancellation policies apply:

Cancellation Within 30 Days: Orders canceled between 15 and 30 days before the scheduled pickup date are subject to a 10% cancellation fee, calculated on the total order amount. The remaining balance will be refunded.

Cancellation Within 14 Days: Orders canceled or reduced between 3 and 14 days before the scheduled pickup date are subject to a 25% cancellation fee, calculated on the value of the canceled items. The remaining balance will be refunded.

Cancellation Within 48 Hours: Orders canceled less than 48 hours before the scheduled pickup time are non-refundable. By this time, colonies have been prepared and reserved specifically for your order, limiting our ability to make them available to other customers.

Missed Pickup / No-Shows: Customers who fail to arrive for their scheduled pickup without prior notice will be considered a no-show. No-show orders are non-refundable and may be forfeited. Due to the rapidly changing conditions within live honey bee colonies, we cannot guarantee that bees will remain available beyond their scheduled pickup date.

Rescheduling: Customers must provide at least 48 hours' advance notice to request a different pickup date. Rescheduling is subject to colony readiness and availability and is not guaranteed.

Please communicate with us: If an unexpected situation arises, contact Pop Pop's Apiaries as soon as possible. We understand that emergencies happen and will consider exceptional circumstances on a case-by-case basis.

These policies allow us to maintain healthy colonies, manage inventory responsibly, and provide our customers with quality honey bees ready for a successful start.

Thank you for understanding and supporting our small, family-owned apiary!

Inspection at Pickup

At Pop Pop's Apiaries, we encourage customers to inspect their honey bees at the time of pickup to ensure they are satisfied with their purchase.

Customers may request to open their nucleus colony (nuc) box or honey bee package for inspection before leaving our premises.

For the safety and comfort of everyone present, all inspections involving opening a nuc or package will be conducted in a designated area a safe distance away from other customers. Inspections must be performed with the assistance or supervision of Pop Pop's Apiaries personnel.

Important: Opening a nuc box or package may result in honey bees escaping or flying away. This is natural behavior and cannot always be prevented. Bees that escape during an inspection cannot be guaranteed to be recovered or replaced, and Pop Pop's Apiaries is not responsible for these losses.

For 3-pound packages, we recommend inspecting the bees through the screened container without opening it whenever possible.

Any concerns regarding the condition of the bees, queen presence, or order accuracy should be brought to our attention before leaving the premises.

Once the customer accepts their bees and departs our premises, all sales are final. No returns, refunds, or exchanges will be accepted, except as otherwise expressly provided in our policy or required by applicable law.

Local pickup only.