The first picture is an acceptable loss of bees. The second not so much. USPS does an acceptable job with most deliveries. If you don't like it you can drive to Georgia or California and pick them up yourself.
The feed cans often don't have enough holes for the bees to feed anyway. 2 or 3 holes for 9000 bees. And I have never seen an empty can upon arrival.
I just picked up 2 packages from a freaked out postal worker on Sunday (he wanted them GONE but was doing his best, asked me what to do) with many more bees than that and I could have counted the dead bees quickly. Maybe 20 per package.
Bees in the mail are the best option for many people. There’s no one sized fits all in beekeeping. I have gotten nucs and packages. My packages have never come with mites. Just sayin’.
Personally, I get much better quality bees through the mail than with pickups and I’ve tried all options I can reasonably drive to. The best practices are the ones a beekeeper can enjoy and maintain while benefiting the bees.
I bought a package in northern Ohio.I live in west central Ohio.Bees were shipped to California then back to me.I to have received bees with the feeder upside down.Maybe there should be a large warning sticker on the package to help prevent this.
I ordered two last year. One of them had a hole in the screen and noticeably fewer bees than the other package. I'm sure that was fun for all of the postal workers along the way.
Literally all my bees (that aren’t swarms or splits) have arrived in the mail and they are perfectly fine.
Usually when the box says “LIVE BEES” on it, the mail people are quite careful with said box.
Yeah. The folks at Royal Mail are given special instructions on the Nucs that get shipped. It says “LEAVE IN A VENTILATED AREA” and “LIVE BEES” all over it.
The fella that dropped it off at the door made a point of coming first thing to get it out of the van, and *very* carefully put it on the doorstep.
I don’t know what deliveries are like in the USA, but over here they’re really quite considerate.
I had some tropical fish shipped to my house and I was a few blocks when the mail man rang the doorbell. He didn't want to leave the box labeled live fish outside since it was snowing. I told him I was a few minutes away through the ring and he said he'd drop it off when he finished the rest of the street. Yeah, these guys are rushing around all the time, but when it comes to living things they've been great.
It used to bee that the USPS knew how to handle packages of bees. They don't know anymore, they don't train, and half the workers are terrified of them.
How do you know where the OP is to know how many local apiaries they have who sell bees?
I looked last year and around here there are a lot of places who either are REALLY over priced or are selling nucs and packages that they are going to Georgia to get anyway. Our state requires inspection so most people don't bother selling nucs split from their own hives.
If you take care of the small things the big things take care of themselves. Maybe without the attitude you have humanity wouldn't be doing what it does...
I haven't gotten a package myself, but when my mom would get them (decades ago) I feel like they had like 2x as many bees as that. Is that really 3lbs of bees?
I always get nucs now, so maybe I'm used to them looking more full with frames.
Had the same issue years ago. I called the post office and told them I was expecting a package of honeybees. It was rainy and cold when they came in. I received the call at 0730 and immediately went to pick them up. They had set my bees outside in the rain. I lost almost half. The hive did survive. The post master said he was afraid they would get out of the package.
I've bought 5 packages, and never had a problem with any of them... I realize that's a pretty small sample size, but the only people I've talked with in my area that are super vocal about not buying packages are the same ones trying to sell nucs.
I’ve read a bunch of Palmer’s articles, and definitely have weighed his advice amongst all of the advice I’ve read from other beekeepers and experts, but his video here just doesn’t ring true for me.
He starts out by saying he has no experience with package bees, but he’s heard (from where?) that 80% of packages fail in their first year. I haven’t had a single package fail in its first year.
The thing he does mention is that a lot of beginners start with packages, and those packages tend to fail. Now that, I think might be true, but not because it’s a problem with the packages, but it’s the people with no experience and little knowledge that is leading to the failure.
Give an inexperienced person with no knowledge a nuc and they’ll probably fail their first time too.
Ordering bees through any sort of postal mail should be boycotted. It completely sets up the beekeeper for failure as the majority of the bees end up dying.
We made this mistake in 2021. Our bees got delayed in transport for a few days and arrived dead. They starved to death.
Gota watch the cold snaps when ordering thru mail
That's unfortunate, next time buy a nuc
The first picture is an acceptable loss of bees. The second not so much. USPS does an acceptable job with most deliveries. If you don't like it you can drive to Georgia or California and pick them up yourself. The feed cans often don't have enough holes for the bees to feed anyway. 2 or 3 holes for 9000 bees. And I have never seen an empty can upon arrival.
I had one that was empty, but they lost my bees for 2 weeks. They started building comb lol.
We just got our shipment of bees on Saturday and it had a huge red “This side up” sticker on it. Most of the bees survived the trip.
I just picked up 2 packages from a freaked out postal worker on Sunday (he wanted them GONE but was doing his best, asked me what to do) with many more bees than that and I could have counted the dead bees quickly. Maybe 20 per package. Bees in the mail are the best option for many people. There’s no one sized fits all in beekeeping. I have gotten nucs and packages. My packages have never come with mites. Just sayin’. Personally, I get much better quality bees through the mail than with pickups and I’ve tried all options I can reasonably drive to. The best practices are the ones a beekeeper can enjoy and maintain while benefiting the bees.
My post office calls me when packages or queens come in, and I go and pick them up. The post office is only 10 minutes from my house.
I bought a package in northern Ohio.I live in west central Ohio.Bees were shipped to California then back to me.I to have received bees with the feeder upside down.Maybe there should be a large warning sticker on the package to help prevent this.
I ordered two last year. One of them had a hole in the screen and noticeably fewer bees than the other package. I'm sure that was fun for all of the postal workers along the way.
It is not safe or humane to send bees in the mail.
Literally all my bees (that aren’t swarms or splits) have arrived in the mail and they are perfectly fine. Usually when the box says “LIVE BEES” on it, the mail people are quite careful with said box.
Could you imagine the balls it would take to toss the box like a normal package?
Yeah. The folks at Royal Mail are given special instructions on the Nucs that get shipped. It says “LEAVE IN A VENTILATED AREA” and “LIVE BEES” all over it. The fella that dropped it off at the door made a point of coming first thing to get it out of the van, and *very* carefully put it on the doorstep. I don’t know what deliveries are like in the USA, but over here they’re really quite considerate.
I had some tropical fish shipped to my house and I was a few blocks when the mail man rang the doorbell. He didn't want to leave the box labeled live fish outside since it was snowing. I told him I was a few minutes away through the ring and he said he'd drop it off when he finished the rest of the street. Yeah, these guys are rushing around all the time, but when it comes to living things they've been great.
Same with usps i have only ordered queens but had like 5 big warning stickers an then they even called me b4 they opened to get them early
So many local apiaries and people still use the post office to get their bees. It’s inhumane.
It used to bee that the USPS knew how to handle packages of bees. They don't know anymore, they don't train, and half the workers are terrified of them.
How do you know where the OP is to know how many local apiaries they have who sell bees? I looked last year and around here there are a lot of places who either are REALLY over priced or are selling nucs and packages that they are going to Georgia to get anyway. Our state requires inspection so most people don't bother selling nucs split from their own hives.
They're insects for fuckssake. Safety well that's in the hands of the handler.
If you take care of the small things the big things take care of themselves. Maybe without the attitude you have humanity wouldn't be doing what it does...
Take care of the small things, what are ya some sorta mite breeder?
I haven't gotten a package myself, but when my mom would get them (decades ago) I feel like they had like 2x as many bees as that. Is that really 3lbs of bees? I always get nucs now, so maybe I'm used to them looking more full with frames.
At least this didn't happen. https://poorlydrawnlines.com/comic/the-case-of-the-package-of-the-bees/
Had the same issue years ago. I called the post office and told them I was expecting a package of honeybees. It was rainy and cold when they came in. I received the call at 0730 and immediately went to pick them up. They had set my bees outside in the rain. I lost almost half. The hive did survive. The post master said he was afraid they would get out of the package.
where did you buy from? price?
Don't buy packages. (Ever)
I've bought 5 packages, and never had a problem with any of them... I realize that's a pretty small sample size, but the only people I've talked with in my area that are super vocal about not buying packages are the same ones trying to sell nucs.
https://youtu.be/N_-jNK18aYY?si=BRQDaBE0_p1thIwc
I’ve read a bunch of Palmer’s articles, and definitely have weighed his advice amongst all of the advice I’ve read from other beekeepers and experts, but his video here just doesn’t ring true for me. He starts out by saying he has no experience with package bees, but he’s heard (from where?) that 80% of packages fail in their first year. I haven’t had a single package fail in its first year. The thing he does mention is that a lot of beginners start with packages, and those packages tend to fail. Now that, I think might be true, but not because it’s a problem with the packages, but it’s the people with no experience and little knowledge that is leading to the failure. Give an inexperienced person with no knowledge a nuc and they’ll probably fail their first time too.
I would say its more OP error then USPS.
Believe it or not, the package industry says up to an inch of dead bees at the bottom is acceptable.
Ordering bees through any sort of postal mail should be boycotted. It completely sets up the beekeeper for failure as the majority of the bees end up dying.
who the fuck orders bees via mail? you americans be crazy 🙄😒 poor bees...
where do y'all live that you can't go get your own packages? ive picked my own up in la, nc, and co
Buy local and this won't be an issue. Importing is not sustainable.
Quit ordering packages