# Package Bees



## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

I'm new to beekeeping, so please excuse what may seem to be a stupid question. I want to buy a couple packages this year, but all the suppliers seem to be in the south. I live in NW WY and would think that southern bees would have a hard time wintering. Do they acclimate by winter? Are there suppliers further north? Am I just a fussbudget?


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## Ernie (Jul 22, 2007)

I face the same problem. In northern Illinois our winters are COLD and I've worried about southern bees. At winter solstice I checked my hives and despite a bunch of dead bees on the bee porches I saw a solitary bee fly out. Plus if you put your ear to the hive you can hear the thrum of their wings in the cluster, so I know that the hives were still alive as of Christmas. That was very encouraging.

I'm expanding the beeyard this year thanks to some empty boxes another beekeeper gave me and I'm looking into Minnesota hygenic bees. 

(http://website.lineone.net/~dave.cushman/hygenequeen.html)

The company I'm looking at is "The Cannon Bee Honey & Supply Company" in Minnesota. I haven't priced them comparatively or done any research into them yet, but it's a name you could start with, same as I.


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

Yes the packege bees are mostly from the southern states and usually don't do well the first winter in northern states.

We have had package bee winter kill the first year at no less than 75%. I don't buy packages anymore. I have enough bees to keep my own stock going off of splits and bought queens now.

Packages are not the only option, contact your local bee club and find out if there are any keepers in your area selling nucs in the spring.

Also google bee forum and check out some of the members in your area.

good luck.


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## OkieDavid (Jan 15, 2007)

One of the primary reasons packages come from the South is because spring comes earlier in the south and hence splits can be made earlier. Those splits when installed in Northern hives give the best return in honey production. There was a time when populating a Northern colony with a package in the spring and then harvesting 100% of the honey produced (thus effectively killing off the colony) was a normal practice. No worrying about feed, meds etc....Just throw in a package in the spring and reap the reward in the fall. Might have made sense from a purely financial/business consideration, but today many beekeeps want more. They are willing to sacrifice a box of honey. Don't automatically assume that any packages from the South won't survive a Northern winter as many are derived from migratory stock that are pretty hardy in their own right but the keepers have decided rather than risk winter losses, we'll just take them to the Southern tier of the U.S. for the winter........That said, I've only had one package survive even our mild winters regardless of how much stores I've left on......Local swarms I've been fortunate enough to collect on the other hand are going gang busters which tells me they are more suited to my local conditions.


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## bluefish (Jan 27, 2006)

Problem is, to my knowledge there is no local bee club. I've asked at the local extension office and tried finding any online, but no luck. I've found one guy in a town about an hour south of me who has bees and sells the products, but he won't sell me any bees. Says he doesn't want any competition, if I want good honey then I can buy his.


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## sugarbush (Jul 15, 2007)

I know Wyoming is a big state, but here is a starting point. If they are not close enough they may know who is closer and will also know of the associations in your area. 
Most of us are really decent people who have such a love for bees that competition for sales never crosses our minds. Sorry your first experioence with a beekeeper was with the only a** keeping bees. 


Goosey-Ellis beekeeping
cheyenne, wyoming 
307-634-5119

You can also set up swarm traps in the spring to collect feral bees. If you want more information about doing so, PM me.


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## damoc (Jul 14, 2007)

try replacing your queen with northern stock in late summer /fall then you
can have the best of both worlds ie early hardworking bees followed by a
more conservative (food stores) maybee russian to survive through the winter.

you could also try overwintering inside but i have little knowledge of that.


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## Durandal (Aug 19, 2007)

One of the moderators over at Beesource has 5 frame nucs available located in NY with a mid to late may pick-up.

Probably your best bet.

The website: http://northernqueens.com/Products.php

The post on Beesource: http://www.beesource.com/forums/showthread.php?t=215365

Hope that helps.


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## dcross (Aug 12, 2005)

Get whatever bees are available locally in spring, then re-queen in summer. Summer queens are cheaper and higher quality.


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