Commercial Pollination, Bees, and Honey from North Carolina
Lee's Bees manages approximately 2,000–3,000 colonies, providing crop pollination, bee packages and nucs, and raw honey from our own hives.
Explore our North Carolina honeys →
2,000–3,000 colonies Nationwide crop pollination Mebane & Jamesville, North Carolina
What we do
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Commercial Pollination
Professional honey bee pollination for almonds, blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, squash, pumpkins, and other crops.
Pollination Services -
Bee Packages and Nucs
Three-pound bee packages and five-frame nucs available seasonally for pickup in Mebane and Jamesville, North Carolina.
Prepare for the 2027 Season -
North Carolina Varietal Honey
Raw varietal honeys shaped by the flowers and regions where our bees forage.
Explore Our Honey -
Consultation
Beekeeping, honey bee, research-support, and educational consultation from Jeffrey Lee, Ph.D.
Consultation Services
Professional crop pollination
Commercial pollination is the heart of our business. We move thousands of strong colonies to farms on a professional schedule, from California almonds in February to blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, squash, and pumpkins through the summer.
- Crops: almonds, high-bush and low-bush blueberries, cranberries, watermelon, squash, and pumpkins
- Season: February through September
- Reach: North Carolina, California, Maine, Wisconsin, and beyond
- Scale: roughly 2,000–3,000 colonies, with the trucks and scheduling to match
- Pesticides: we do not place bees on crops treated with chemicals that could harm them
Crops we pollinate
- Almonds — February, March
- High-bush blueberries — March, April
- Low-bush blueberries — May
- Cranberries — June
- Watermelon, Squash — June, July, August
- Pumpkins — July, August
Prepare for the 2027 bee season
The 2026 ordering season has ended. Packages are expected in March and April 2027, and five-frame nucs are expected in April. Prices, queen options, exact pickup dates, and the 2027 order form will be posted when ordering opens.
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Bee packages
Three pounds of bees with a caged queen, expected for pickup in Mebane and Jamesville in March and April 2027.
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Five-frame nucs
Established nucleus colonies on five frames, expected for pickup in Mebane and Jamesville in April 2027.
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Pickup & timing
Pickup is available in Mebane and Jamesville, North Carolina. Exact dates depend on weather and colony development.
Seasonal updates
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2027 Bee Season
Packages and nucs are expected to return in spring 2027. Ordering information will be posted when available.
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Honey Available Now
Gallberry · Water Tupelo · Wildflower
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Coming Soon
Sourwood · Sourwood Honey with Comb
A bee shepherd's year
“I think of myself as a bee shepherd—I move our bees to wherever the flowers are.”
- February
California almond pollination
- March
North Carolina high-bush blueberries
- May
Maine low-bush blueberries
- Summer
Watermelon, squash, and pumpkins in eastern North Carolina and cranberries in Wisconsin
- September
Colonies return home to North Carolina
Read the full Lee's Bees story →
North Carolina varietal honey
Alongside our pollination and bee sales, we produce raw varietal honeys shaped by the flowers and regions where our bees forage: Gallberry, Sourwood, Sourwood Honey with Comb, Water Tupelo, and Wildflower, plus our own bee pollen.
Consultation
Jeffrey Lee, Ph.D., combines advanced scientific training with decades of commercial beekeeping. Lee's Bees supplies live bees for research, offers scientific input on bee-related projects, and gives educational talks. Learn about consultation →
Lee's Bees in the media
- Tabletop Media Group Meet Lee's Bees, an Ag Carolina Client (video)
- Whole Foods Market Lee's Bees: Growing Communities (video)
- The Daily Tar Heel Honeybees have become increasingly difficult to keep alive 2016
- The Times-News Real People: Jeff Lee's bees remain busy…
Get in touch
For pollination or bee packages and nucs, email Jeffrey Lee at jeff@leesbees.org. For honey and bee pollen, email Hye-Sook Lee at hyesook@leesbees.org. For anything else, email contact@leesbees.org or use our contact form.