Bee Package is a package of Bees. Bee Package is a specially designed box equipped with a sugar water dispenser and a cage to separate the queen bee from the other bees. Honey bees can sting at any time be it before installing a package or after. Therefore, spraying some sugar water can calm them. The person installing the bee package for the first time should remember to wear protective gear which includes a bee jacket and gloves.
Bee Packages are available in different sizes and weights. Each pound of bees contains around 10k – 15k bees. A bee package should be kept in a cool, calm, and dark place. Packages are made up of wooden frames. The sides of the wooden frames are made up of wires. The sugar feed is attached to the lid. The Queen Bee cage is also kept inside. The queen bee is kept near the worker bees.
For a lot of people this profession still remains a mystery. The “package bees” is a very unique term in itself. The act of transporting 10k – 15k live bees which weigh close to 5lbs is a very interesting act. The most important thing is that the queen bee and the worker bees aren’t from the same colonies.
Cost of Bee Package
A Bee Package costs anything between $ 150 – $ 200. The rate varies from area to area. The various factors are location, reputation of the supplier and the time of the year during which the bee package is ordered. The initial costs of beekeeping include buying a bee package and protective gear and then installing the bee package.
The following equipment is used
- Hive stand
- Screened bottom
- Single deep hive body
- Feeder
- Spray bottle with sugar water
- Hive tool
- A Sharp tool
Protective Gear & Smoker
The most important instruction while starting the bee-keeping installation is that the concerned person should wear protective gear which includes gloves, a mask, and a bee jacket . It provides safety from bee stings. A smoker should also be kept close because it is required to calm the bees when they are confused.
- Install the Queen bee cage
The first step is to install the Queen bee cage. To install the queen bee package remove four frames from the preassembled hive. Then use the hive tool to remove the lid from the package. Install the queen in the middle of the brood area, towards the center of the hive,
- Remove the feeder Can
Remove the feeder can from the package used to feed the bees. Take the sugar water and put it in your new entrance feeder. It’s mostly impossible to tell when to remove the feeder. The thing is, you need to look inside the hive, if your bees have honey, they wont likely need a feeder.
- Taking the queen cage on the side
The next step includes removing the queen cage slowly from the package and taking it on the side. Then take the bee package upside down so the bees fall inside the box. The queen cage has to put slowly and silently on the side so that the worker bees dont get disturbed.
- Wait for Worker bees
The queen bee should be kept in the cage for a few days so that the other worker bees get used to her scent. Worker bees enter inside the queen cage and they keep on eating the candy without any disturbance.
- Releasing the queen bees
The queen bee should be released a week after installing the package. The push in cage could be removed casually to release the queen bees manually or once the bees are no longer clinging to the cage so they will be easily brushed away.