Thanks to our headquarters in Sardinia, my operation is able to anticipate the timing of reproduction — a magic that forms the basis of every successful beekeeper’s work.
We bring between 500 and 800 colonies to Sardinia in early January. We begin reproduction as soon as the first cells are ready — around February 20th.
From then on, we are able to produce nucs, nucs, and more nucs — with the first queens available from March 20th until July.
The nucs go on sale from April 10th and remain available throughout the season until August. The first to be sold will be ready for acacia harvest by May 1st.
Demand is very high!
Book by January by writing to info@lucabonizzoni.it

In Sardinia, I start raising the first nucs in February, which I then bring back with me to Casteggio, where I use them in my own operation. Then, starting in early April, I begin selling them: after a month, they’ll be so developed that they can already produce acacia honey.
This is the rational, economic side; then there is a more emotional aspect that continues to fascinate me even after so many years of work — it still feels like magic.
Seeing the bees accept the queen and care for her. Watching these new queens start laying eggs like a machine gun, while new bees are born. Watching the young colonies grow stronger, build new wax frames, one after another, and then fill them with honey and pollen — but above all, with brood.
Seeing all this is a true explosion of energy, of vitality — it feels like a miracle. It rewards me for all the hard work. And this, multiplied by hundreds and hundreds of colonies: in the month of March in Sardinia, I usually double the number of nucs. And then production continues in Casteggio from April through June and July.

First sales before Acacia: never a closed box!

I start selling nucs in early April: strong bees and a bright new laying queenI deliver them on five frames, at least three of which are guaranteed to contain brood, although our usual practice involves four. For me, it’s a lot of work, but it makes a difference — I never deliver blindly.
The customer visits the apiary and inspects the colonies with me, checking the queen’s laying pattern, the quality of the wax, the quantity of stocks, the health of the bees and brood, and the overall number of bees. They only make their purchase at the end. If a customer needs to buy 80 colonies, we go to a location with more than 100 — the customer must be able to choose.
For more information, feel free to email me at info@lucabonizzoni.it

Varroa-free nucs and variable pricing

Another unique aspect of my sales approach is that the price depends on the date of purchase: it is higher at the beginning of April and gradually decreases over time.
Finally, starting in mid-July, we will sell nucs treated against varroa with organic methods, which won’t require the usual treatments applied in the fall.