FREE DELIVERY FOR ALL ORDERS OVER £50 (Excluding Bumblebee Colony Orders & Product Subscriptions)

Gift Voucher For A Live Bumblebee Colony - Delivery Dates Available For Spring & Summer 2024


Enjoy Live Bumblebees In Your Garden

Dragonfli's Bumblebee colonies have been updated this year and are now available as Natupol Smart Colonies. These colonies appear physically smaller than the previous Beepol colonies, which were of commercial sizing, but are now more suited for hobby and garden use.

The colony consists of Bombus terrestris audax Bumblebees which are UK native and known as the Buff-tailed Bumblebee. Each colony includes:

  • A Queen Bee
  • Worker Bees
  • Brood (Eggs, Larvae & Pupae)
  • A Sugar Water Food Supply (Housed Underneath The Colony)

Bumblebees are fantastic pollinators and wonderful to observe at work in, and around, the garden.

Bumblebees Improve Pollination In Plants & Crops, Bolstering Fruit & Vegetable Yields

Natupol Smart Bumblebee Colonies are a great help to growers with polythene tunnels and glasshouses. Plants located within these indoor environments will benefit from improved pollination. Fruit and vegetable yields, in plants such as Tomatoes, will be bolstered as a consequence.

How Do The Bees Work?

A simple trap door on the outside of the colony should be opened to release the bees. The worker bees will then orientate themselves as to where the colony is located. The workers will then start flying back and forth to the colony with their pollen loads to feed the young bee larvae inside.

Full instructions will be provided with the colony.

What Is The Life Cycle Of The Bumblebees?

After introduction of the hive, worker bumblebees will start pollinating the flowers and collecting pollen to feed the brood. More workers will emerge from the brood in the weeks after the introduction, increasing both colony size and pollination performance.

After some weeks the colony will reach its peak and start declining in size and pollination activity. Colony development depends on environmental conditions and the amount and quality of available pollen.

Once all activity has stopped inside the colony, it can be removed. A new colony can then be ordered to continue pollination, or pre-ordered to use for the following season.

How Is The Voucher Redeemed?

The voucher offers a number of delivery dates across the spring and summer, when your Live Bumblebee Colony can be sent out to you. 

Each voucher has a unique number allocated to it. The recipient of the voucher should simply contact Dragonfli by email or phone, quoting their unique voucher number, chosen delivery date from those listed and confirm their delivery address.

Purchasers of the voucher will incur the £10.75 courier shipping charge. 

The live colonies are delivered by courier with full instructions also provided.

Where Should I Place The Bees?

Previous Customers (That Own Our Timber Villas) Can Enjoy Housing Colonies

Our new Bumblebee Colonies will still fit inside our previously available custom Wooden Villas. Owners of these villas simply need to place the colony inside the structure, ensuring, if possible, that the colony lines up to the villa exit hole. Do not worry if you cannot achieve this as the Bumblebees will be able to map and navigate their way out of the villa anyway. Pull the white plastic sliding door upwards until it is removed to release the Bees. Please do not tinker with the placement of the colony once it has been set as this may confuse the Bees.

New Customers Can Place Colonies In Greenhouses, Glasshouses, Polytunnels Or Makeshift Shelters

If you are a new Bumblebee Colony customer, please ensure you have a requisite shelter available. Colonies are best stored in greenhousesglasshouses and polytunnels; with plenty of access and proximity to flowering plants. Pull the white plastic sliding door upwards until it is removed to release the Bees. Please do not tinker with the placement of the colony once it has been set as this may confuse the Bees.

Once the Live Bumblebee Colony has been delivered and installed in your villa, the enjoyment of watching a live Bumblebee colony in action in your garden can begin!

What Are The Dimensions Of The Bee Colony?

W 25cm x D 23.5cm x H 16cm

Use Our Wax Moth Killer Nematodes To Protect Bees From Wax Moth Infestation

Should your colony be attacked by the natural pest, the Wax Moth, we strongly recommend that you purchase our Wax Moth Killer Nematodes which can be found here. These nematodes are deadly to the Wax Moth grubs but safe to the humans and wildlife. The nematodes enter the grubs via a natural opening, like the mouth, and feed on the contents of the grubs. A natural bacterium is produced by the nematodes inside the grubs, which kills it. Infected grubs will be completely broken down by the nematodes and will often turn brown. The nematodes also reproduce inside the grubs, releasing more nematodes into the surrounding area. Please only apply these nematodes when Wax Moth larvae are clearly visible.