How To Install A Package Of Bees

What is a package of bees?

A package of bees consists of:

• Approximately 10,000 bees.
• A caged queen.
• A metal can feeder
• A screened box

To make a package, bees are shaken into the screened box and a newly mated, unrelated queen is added. These packages are typically prepared in the southern U.S. or California during early spring before being delivered to your local bee supplier.

When picking up your package:

• Check the bottom of the box for dead bees.
• A small handful of dead bees is normal.
• A solid layer of dead bees is a concern.
• Your package should be installed within two days of pick up.
• Keep the package at room temperature in the dark until installation.

To prepare for installation:

1. Set up your hive:
• Ensure that the frames in the brood chamber are freshly coated with beeswax. 
• If you have 8 frames in the brood chamber, place the follower board between frames #3 and #4 (when facing the open hive, #1 is the closest to you) in the brood box. This limits the brood chamber to 5 frames. You can also remove the first three frames all together. 

2. Make up Sugar Syrup:
• Use 1:1 sugar syrup in a 2-quart mason jar.  Place the feeder jar into the medium spacer box (frames removed) above the queen excluder.  Do NOT place feeder directly above the queen cage. 
• Feed your package bees for at least 3 weeks after installation to support wax production and brood rearing.
• You can also use an in-frame feeder in the brood box to feed your newly installed bees.  

Installing Your Package:

1. Position the queen cage:
• Inspect the queen cage to make sure the queen is alive.
• Remove the cork from the candy plug end only. Leave the other cork in place.
• Place the queen cage horizontally between frames #6 and #7 in the brood box (counted in from the front of the brood chamber).

1. Shake in the bees:
• Shake the bees into the empty spacer box (no frames) and close the hive. We recommend removing the queen excluder beforehand, but it isn't 100% necessary.
• Once all the bees are down into the brood box, put the queen excluder back between the brood and spacer box (if removed).

3. Optional Boost:
• If available, add a frame of capped brood from another colony into the brood box to give the package a head start.

Post-Installation Checks:

1. 3–5 Days After Installation:
• Verify that the queen has been released from her cage.
• If she is still in the cage, manually release her by removing the cork from the other end.
• Remover the queen cage from the brood box

1. 10–14 Days After Installation:
• Perform your first hive inspection:
• Look for eggs, larvae, and capped brood as evidence of a laying queen.
• If no eggs or larvae are present, contact your package supplier for a replacement queen.
• Remove the follower board and allow the bees to work all 8 frames in the brood box.

Common Issues with Package Installation:

1. Bees Absconding:
• This rare issue can occur if the queen is dead, poorly mated, or the bees feel the hive is unsuitable.
• Feeding the bees during installation can help prevent absconding.

3. Queen Not Laying:
• If the queen hasn’t started laying by 10 days, she may be poorly mated. Contact your supplier for a replacement.

1. Supercedure Cells:
• Bees may build a supercedure cell to replace a weak queen.
• You can remove it if you are certain the queen is present, but often, the bees know best.

Keys to success:

• Feed consistently for the first few weeks.
• Monitor the queen's performance closely.
• Be patient—the colony needs time to grow and stabilize.

By following these steps, you’ll give your new colony the best chance of thriving!