Swarm Lure 2 pack Swarm Lure $8.00
NUC Transport Box - 4 Frame Waxed Cardboard NUC Transport Box - 4 Frame Waxed Cardboard $16.00

Bee Packages SOLD OUT for 2026

This order form is for the 1 kg size of packages available on March 21 and 28.

Your contact info will be collected during CHECK OUT.

We get our Bee Packages from New Zealand and Tasmania.  The packages include:

What is A Package of Bees

  • it  is approx. 10,000 – 15,000 bees in a screened box   (1 kg vs 1.5kg)
  • a queen in a cage.
  • A food container to sustain them during transport.

For each date we will have 3 pick up locations:
1. Pat’s farm in Duncan
2.  View Royal in Victoria
3. Nanaimo Woodgrove mall
*the Tasmanian Bees will be available on Sunday, March 15. An email will be sent with details.

NOTE:  Bee packages are NOT recommended for people just starting as a new beekeeper.  We recommend NUCS (Nucleus Colonies for brand new beekeepers)

IMPORTANT: There are NO Refunds for cancellations,  however,  all money will be returned if any unforeseen circumstances prevent the arrival of the bees. Queens will be replaced, free of charge, if they are dead on arrival.

We recommend the following items be purchased for Strong Bee health: -> Recommended additives for a Strong start for your bees.  We can bring these with your bees.

Printable: How to Install a Bee Package

Getting Ready for Package Arrival

Apiary Site Selection. A sunny, wind-protected and well drained location should be selected. Sunlight will warm the colony and stimulate foraging.

Install an entrance reducer for the colony to conserve heat and prevent robbing.

When many colonies are being established from packages, hives must be temporarily closed completely by stuffing grass in the entrance to prevent robbing. The grass can be replaced with an entrance reducer after the bees have settled.

Beehive equipment including bottom board, hive body, inner cover and hive lid should be ready before packages arrive.

Should I feed my packaged bees once they are installed?

Unless you install your packages on drawn comb containing sufficient honey and pollen (taken from existing colonies or from storage), you should plan to feed the bees immediately upon installation and continue feeding them until they are able to fend for themselves. This is critically important when installing packages on foundation. A piece of pollen patty, the size of a large cookie,is all that is needed.

Suggestions for Sugar Syrup

  • Ratio 1:1 white sugar dissolved in water
  • Add to syrup for gut health: Honey-B-Healthy  or Hive Alive as a health supplement. Essential oils for good gut health.
  • Add to syrup in case the bees have nosema from the stress of traveling:  Fumagilin-B
  • Treat for mites with APIVAR or Oxalic Acid within the first week.
  • If it is too cold for syrup, have fondant as an option for the bees.  9C is when Bees will drink syrup.

Preparation of the brood chamber. Prepare ten frames . Use frames with drawn comb if possible and some honey and pollen stores when available. The central frames should be about  75% free of honey and pollen to provide room for brood development. Empty drawn comb is good, but the bees will also draw out new comb.

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How to Install a Bee Package that comes in a box.

1. Installing New Zealand Bees

Watch these Videos:

2.Installing Tasmanian (Australian) Bees

Watch these videos:

About Tasmanian Bees

These bees are sourced from the Australian states of Tasmania and Western Australia. These regions are some of the last in the world that are Varroa mite free.

The Tasmanian Bee packages come with a phermone strip inside(attached to a queen cage) with the bees and the Queen will be handed to you in a separate cage.

Please watch the Videos above for special instructions for installation.  It is different than other packaged bees where the queen is already accepted by the bees.

TASMANIAN BEE PACKAGES info:

Each package comes with one caged queen; HOWEVER, this queen will come separately and outside of the package. Inside the package there will be a pheromone strip to simulate being queenright. The queen is then introduced to the package at the time of installation after removing the pheromone strip. The queen must be allowed to slow release so the colony will have time to get used to her new phermone.

**IMPORTANT*** Take the phermone strip and put it in a trash bin with a lid on it. If it is thrown on the ground, the bees will fly to it because they think it is their queen.

These bees come in a box-style package. We recommend you cut the side screen and shake the bees that way. shaken out that way..

Tasmanian packages are varroa-mite free, which can help delay mite build-up until later in the year. However, please note that Tasmanian packages sometimes contain the minor pest called ‘Braula Fly’ or ‘Bee Louse’. The Braula Fly steals food from bee’s mouthparts, and they are often attracted to the queen in particular. As such, it is not uncommon to find them during and after package installation and can easily be mistaken for a varroa mite if you do not expect to see them.  A normal mite treatment will kill these off.

You can find more information on them here: https://beeaware.org.au/archive-pest/braula-fly/.

An optional method:

OPTION 2:   The ‘Two HIVE BOX Method.   No Shaking.

Leave the bees in their box, on top of frames of the bottom brood box.  Put an empty hive box around them.  This is to prevent wandering since they have no pheromone scent to draw them back.  NO SHAKING

  1. Place the Queen between frames in the lower box. Place her in the center, top, fondant side up, with tape over the fondant. Easy for the bees to find.
  2. Add a second Box.
  3. Put the package of bees, inside the second box, on top of the frames inside the bottom box. ‘food side’ up.  You can leave the food in their box for now.
  4. Remove the pheromone strip and put in a cover trash bin. (the bees will fly to the pheromone strip if it is not properly disposed of)
  5. Screen on the side: Cut or pull the bottom half of the screen off so the bees can escape and go down into the frames.
  6. Put on the inner cover and hive cover.
  7. Go back later or in the morning and remove their package box and remove the 2nd empty hive box. Down to one hive box.  Shake or brush off any bees left in the box. Pull out food container and place in front of hive
  8. Feed then or the next day but be quick.