Hobbyist Beekeeping Solutions
Everything you need to start or grow your backyard apiary — queens, packages, nucs, and step-by-step guidance from real working beekeepers.
We don’t just sell bees. We show you how to succeed.
What We Offer
Starter options for backyard and small-scale beekeepers.
Queens
Starter Hives
Packages
Support & Guidance
Nucleus Colonies
Getting Started With Your Bees
New to beekeeping? These are the fundamentals every hobbyist should understand before installing bees.
Installing Packages
How to properly install a package and get your colony started strong.
Introducing Queens
Steps for safely introducing a queen and checking acceptance.
Hive Setup & Placement
Where to place your hive, how to level it, and basic equipment setup for healthy colonies.
Feeding & Early Care
Basic feeding practices and early season management for new colonies.
🟢 LIVE YARD UPDATE
Seasonal notes and real-time updates from our working apiaries.
Queen and Package Availability!
Spring Queen & Package Availability — April 1 Start Our Spring 2026 queens and packages will be ready starting the first week of April. All mated queen orders will begin shipping the first week of April, aligned with seasonal conditions and production windows....
Installing Your First Package of Bees
Installing your first package is one of the most important moments in starting a hive. A strong start sets the tone for the entire season. Here’s how we recommend hobbyist beekeepers approach package installation. --- Before You Begin Make sure your hive is fully...
Why Selby Apiaries
• Real working yards, not just breeding stock
• Beginner-friendly guidance backed by field experience
• Transparent updates through The Apiary
• Integrated operations across bees, pollination, and honey
We’re here to help you succeed — not just sell you bees.
Trusted by Beekeepers
Contact Us
Have questions about our queens or the beekeeping process? Fill out the form on the right and we will get back to you shortly. Excited to hear from you!
The queens arrived and were placed inside the hives for approximately 13 days. The queens have sugar candy that help with feeding during the time the hive has to get acclimated. After the 13 days I opened the small mesh securing the queens. They were healthy going off quickly into the hive.
This small business has friendly staff and is positively recommended to other bee keepers.
Great guys to work with. Great queens. Will continue to order queens from Chico Queen Bees.
Highly recommended Queen Bee’s from Chico, California. Even though I am in the San Diego area, service was fast and the bees arrives healthy.
I will use again.
Great queen. Laying strong patterns super gentle offspring. Customer service was outstanding.