Ordering bee hives - any advice?

[RedBarn]

I would not start with nine due to economic reasons. Nucs have doubled in cost over the last 3-4 years. Maybe start with three incase you lose one this year. Reason I say this is that I split one hive into three a couple years ago, and the same hive I split into two last year. One of the split hives, I split again... I think you get the picture. Invest in queens, not more nucs that are way overpriced.

[Giddings_TX]

Well I spoke too soon. Mine hive is dead, no honey at all. Can anyone tell me what the black stuff is?

Sorry to hear this... I have been lucky thus far but with Mites, Beetles, Moths, Pesticides, Cold weather and other issues it doesn't take much to loose one. Looked like a small hive Maybe they weren't able to stay warm enough in the winter because of low numbers???

[ShoootLow]

The black stuff is older comb. It looks like you should have added another box so they have room to expand. Don't see any moths or signs of beetles, which is a good thing.

[npe001]

I was thinking about looking into this for my parents place.