Hercules Bees

We attended a beekeeping workshop this weekend and learned so much! As new bee keepers we had a lot of questions and Scott was very helpful and knowledgeable!
The workshop consists of lecture and hands-​on learning giving us the confidence we need to tend to our hive.

I’m a huge fan of Scott and Hercules bees. After researching beekeeping for a few weeks, my boyfriend and I decided to dive in the deep end and get some bees. At that time of year (mid-​June) it was difficult to find anyone that had bees, and we were unsure how to get started. Scott and Hercules Bees were a great solution — after visiting his apiary, he picked out two 2-​foot hives with friendly, calm bees for us, and even delivered them to our house in SF a few days later. He was super helpful in getting everything set up, and put us at ease by answering all of our newbie questions.
One month in, and we have happy bees in top-​quality top bar hives — and some honey too!

I struggled with a traditional «Langstroth» beehive as a new beekeeper last year, but found them heavy and unwieldy and hard to maintain. I’d heard about Top Bar beehives and was interested in getting one. I saw one demonstrated in Berkeley and the ease of maintaining the hive, and extracting the combs, just blew me away. I learned about Scott Jorgensen’s Hercules Bees and top bar hives through a mutual friend at the Mount Diablo Beekeepers Association. Scott came out and for a very reasonable price built a foundation for a top bar hive (with ample room for expansion), and delivered a completed top bar beehive and a smaller box that would hold an overflow nucleus colony if the main hive became too crowded. He has a wealth of information on bees and beekeeping (he builds Langstroth hives too) and is very easy to work with. We spent a very pleasant morning putting together the foundation and the hive while I picked Scott’s brain for more info than my brain could hold. Strongly recommend him for anyone who is interested in beekeeping, especially if they (like me) are slightly overwhelmed at the complexity of it all. Scott will also do consulting at a very reasonable rate as you learn to work with your beehive over the course of the year.

Scott makes wonderfully crafted top bar hives and provides great customer service. He took the time to educate us on how to set up a stand for our new hive, recommended books and sources for bees, and followed up via email too! If (no, WHEN) I get a second hive, I will definitely make the trip out to Hercules for one of Scott’s creations!