Should I catch a swarm or buy a nuc of bees?

A common beekeeper's dilemma at the beginning of the bee season when they are thinking about expanding their apiary or replacing winter deaths is how to go about getting more bees and whether they should catch a free swarm or pay for a nuc of bees. 

Catching a swarm of bees

Catching a swarm of bees is a simple as it sounds - having a swarm of bees move into your hive or catching a swarm that has settled somewhere.

Getting bees into your hive can be as easy as waiting for a swarm from a local bee hive to decide that they would like to start their colony in your hive.

Waiting for bees to move in is great although often bees are not as easy as that and the swarm would rather settle somewhere they shouldn't. This can be a very cheap way to start beekeeping as there is no cost for the bees - and people are often very grateful for you removing the swarm. 

The positives of catching a swarm of bees:

• Free 
• You get to meet some lovely people when you collect a swarm
• Hardy genetics from local bees. The bees you collect will be local to you and potentially have a better understanding of local climates. 

The negatives of catching a swarm of bees:

• Time and labour intensive. 
• No guarantee you'll catch the swarm.
• You also have no control over the genetics of the bees. These bees have come from a random hive and could be very angry or have a tendency to swarm again (although this can be fixed by replacing the queen in the swarm). There's a saying, "Swarmy bees, swarm."

Although catching a swarm is a very cheap way to start bee keeping it can also be very slow as there is no guarantee you'll get one, or the colony will survive. 

Buying a nuc of bees

A nuc, or nucleus colony, is a small, established bee colony normally 5-6 frames of bees. 

Buying a nuc of bees is the best way to guarantee you'll have bees. It also allows you to have them earlier on in the year than a swarm. This is an advantage compared to swarms as you can grow faster and give a boost to your honey crop. 

Buying a nuc also allows you to have control over the genetics of the bees unlike with a swarm where you don't know the behavior of the bees.

You also don't have to buy local genetics from a local beekeeper. You can order these online and have them delivered to your door. 

Postives of buying a nuc:

• Guaranteed genetics - the queen will be 'tried and tested'. If it's an overwintered colony, the bees have proven their survivability. 
• Laying queen and established colony
• Food stores - the nuc will come with food stores, so they are less prone to starving. 

The negatives of buying a nuc:

• Cost - they are pricy compared to the free cost of a swarm.

Summary:

Whether to wait for a swarm or buy a nuc depends on the needs to each beekeeper. A swarm is a very cost-effective way to expand your apiary but with no guarantee whereas buying a nuc is a very simple, stress-free why to expand and allows for more honey production.