If you’re looking to adopt your own local rescue beehive, then you’ve come to the right place. J R Bees has partnered with another locally based small “bee-based” business called You Me and the Bees, LLC, and they are happy to get you set up with everything you need! Whether you are looking to learn alongside a more experienced beekeeper and eventually take over caring for your own hive, or you have no intentions of ever opening that buzzing box, they can cater to your needs/desires!   What is the difference between adopting a local rescue hive and purchasing an imported package of bees?? There are lots of variables to consider when it comes down to selecting the bees you want to populate your hive. As with most any topic in beekeeping, there are many different opinions on the matter and this is just mine. I am a strong believer in keeping things local, and I believe this should apply to our bees as well. Local honeybees are more adapted to the regions climates, pests, diseases, and in my experience are more successful foragers in slower months. There are risks to both sides of this issue, local bees can be slightly more apt to swarm or become aggressive. Imported bees can bring disease in from other states, the transportation stresses and weakens the colonies, and they are less resistant to the local pests, viruses and diseases. What to do if your hive becomes aggressive or show signs or swarming? You just read in the above paragraph that one of the risks to having local bees are the possibility of the hive becoming aggressive. This sounds like a pretty serious and it is but don’t let that deter you yet! Temperament is something that is noted during every hive inspection and you can trust that if your hive starts to exhibit aggressive behavior You Me and the Bees, LLC will quickly re-queen your hive with a locally bred queen with a much better attitude! Helpful Links:  http://www.treehugger.com/