Packages delayed one week, Again.

Due to poor  spring buildup conditions in South Georgia, our package pickup date has  AGAIN  been delayed by one week by the producer.  Our packages will now be arriving in Maine on May 18 ,2013.  We apologize for the inconvenience,  and realize that you all have made lots of arrangements and re-arrangements around the arrival of the bees, but  we  hope that all will understand we (and especially the package producers) have to work with the bees and the weather.   Erin and Cindy will be going to pick up our packages on Thursday May 16  and will have them here in Portland for pick up Saturday morning.

Please plan to pick up your packages on May 18  , or for those who chose installation, May  26 th.

We  sincerely apologize that  this notice  is so short, but we just received word from Rossman (our package producer) today.  We hope you will be able to change your plans accorgingly.  Please contact us directly if you will not be able to accommodate this change.  Contact Cindy at 207-776-1619.   As always, keep an eye on our website for any further  changes.  And to keep most up to date, "like" OverlandHoney on facebook, we will be updating our page with photos and stories from the trip!

Thanks for your understanding, see you May 18 .

Packages delayed one week, pick up changed to May 11, 2013

Packages delayed one week.  Due to poor weather for the past few weeks in South Georgia, our package pickup date has been delayed by one week by the producer.  Our packages will now be arriving in Maine on May 11,2013.  We apologize for the inconvenience, but hope that all will understand we have to work with the bees and the weather.

Please plan to pick up your packages on May 11, or for those who chose installation, May 19th.

SOLD OUT - packages .  As of 3/12/2013, we are no longer accepting package orders.

We will be bringing up 3lb packages of bees from Rossman Apiaries in Georgia for delivery on May 4, 2013.   May 11, 2013.  To order packages from us, please print the attached confirmation form and send it with your check.

Package Confirmation 2013

Best wishes for an early spring!

2013 Packages Sold Out

Our 2013 packages are now sold out.  If you have placed an order with us, you will receive a paper receipt from us confirming your order and payment.  Please keep an eye here on the "news" section of our website for updates on the package delivery, which is scheduled for May 4, 2013.

Packages will be available to pick up at our Portland location, 188 Capisic Street on the morning of May 4th.  Installed packages will be available the following Sunday evening, May 12 after 5pm.

Please ensure that you have everything ready for your bees before coming to pick them up, including a pail feeder or other contact feeder of 1-1 sugar syrup, and all of your equipment set up and ready for the bees.

Overwintering nucleus colonies

After a full on record breaking blizzard last weekend and extremely high winds last night, I went to check on the nucs today.  They are all looking great, with no visible damage from the storms.  I'm hoping for a break in the weather soon to see how the bees are doing.

Healthy Hives Workshop – March 28, 2013 Wells, Maine

Erin is teaching a two hour workshop on breaking the brood cycle and using this natural management technique to improve colony health.
Full program information and registration information  here:   HealthyHivesWorkshopRegistration28Mar2013 

a healthy colony

Seeking funding for Northern Queen project

We are seeking funding for an additional 14 colonies for our 2013 SARE project comparing honey bee package colonies with requeened packages.  SARE has funded 36 colonies for this project (the cap of their Farmer Grant), but we would like to increase the sample size to 50.
This project is a continuation of the work we did in 2009 and 2010.  The final results of that project were extremely promising, raising the survival rate of the packages from 42% to 90% by requeening.  Project description and reports can be found on the SARE website by searching FNE10-694. here

We are requesting donations of in any amount to support this project, or you may sponsor a colony in our project for $500.  All donors will be invited to participate in the project, and hive sponsors will not only be able to participate in the project, but will also be able to keep their colony after the project is complete.  More details about supporting our project can be found here:

Erin Project Donor Request
FNE12-756 Proposal

Thank you for considering supporting our project.

Feeding honey bee colonies in the 2009 Biddeford SARE yard

2013 Honey Bee Packages for Sale

In conjunction with our 2013 SARE project, Overland will be bringing Rossman Apiaries 3lb Italian packages to Maine in spring 2013. We will have a limited number of these packages for sale at $100 each. Our delivery date will be Saturday May 4, 2013 at Overland Apiaries in Portland. You can order packages and pay via paypal through our shop on this website.

Please be sure to also email us with your contact information (email, mailing address and best phone number).