Interesting Facts About Package Bees

Purchasing package bees is an cost-effective and efficient method to begin a new bee colony. If you are just starting the hobby of beekeeping, then this is one way to start.

Package bees generally are available in 2 – 3 lb. (900gm – 1.3 kg) boxes of mixed worker and drone bees with a queen in her own specially made cage. Usually a single package consists of up to 12 000 bees. The queen bees can also be purchased independently, as the need might arise. As with any other technique of colonizing a bee hive, there are risks involved for all kinds of bees, including ground bees and they could die off in transit as a result of heat, stress, or they might be attacked in their new hive if not protected. In some instances the new queen isn’t well accepted by the bees.

By using the bees’ inherent colonization instincts, and good sense in moving the bees, it is possible to reduce these risks, and help to make the transitional period effective and as stress-free as possible.

To reduce losses in the bees during transit, it is always best to complete the transit as quickly as possible and to move them to their hive as soon as possible after arriving. The transit ought to also be done in a cool mode of transport as bees over-heat quite effortlessly and over-heating kills them. If the bees cannot be taken out of the package in to the bees nest immediately, it will be required to feed them by brushing a sugar and water solution on the wire mesh from where they are able to feed. The queen has sufficient food in the candy wall to help keep her nourished for several days.  The queen is kept in her own special cage that has either a side made of candy or a plug in a plastic cage, that is also made of candy. The bees will release her from the cage as they eat away the candy, and as they do this, they get used to the new queen, and will hopefully not attack her when she has been released.

It’s essential to remove a couple of frames from the hive while the bees are releasing their queen and becoming accustomed to their new surroundings. You might replace them a few days later. The queen’s cage is placed in the center bottom of the bee hive, and then the other bees are moved to the hive and all covers replaced. Reduce the openings to protect the bees from outside attacks. Place a bee feeder inside for the initial few days or weeks. Thereafter the feeder can be placed outside the hive to let the bees to forage the surroundings and not only feed on the sugar water solution.

By installing package bees while following the bees’ own instinctive behavior and good sense in handling the bees, the transition period ought to be smooth and losses minimal.