Tips and Pointers for Installing Bee Packages: (for backyard beekeepers)
- Understanding a Bee Package
A package of bees is usually delivered in a screened wooden that allows airflow and prevents overheating.
It includes:
-> Worker bees 1kg or 1.5kg
-> A Queen in a small cage
-> A can or feeder containing sugar syrup to sustain the bees during transit
-> A Varroa treatment for your package (new Zealand bees).
-> This setup is designed for short-term containment and should be installed in a hive as soon as conditions are favourable.
- When to Install Your Bees
The best time to install package bees into a hive is late in the afternoon as it encourages the bees to settle into the hive rather than fly off.
Weather Considerations:
-> Choose a mild, dry day for installation.
-> Avoid windy or rainy days.
If the weather is unfavourable when your bees arrive, you can temporarily keep the package in a cool, dark, and well-ventilated area (such as a shed or garage) for up to 2–3 days. Keep them out of direct sunlight and ensure the sugar syrup can is upright and accessible. A spray of fresh water every day will help the bees.
- Transporting Your Package Safely
Transporting your bees from the supplier to your apiary requires care:
-> Keep the package upright to avoid syrup spillage and unnecessary stress on the bees.
-> Secure the package in your vehicle to prevent movement.(seat belt works)
-> Ensure ventilation – don’t cover the package with anything that might block airflow.
-> Minimise travel time, and avoid stopping in direct sun.
-> Use the air condition to keep the car cool.(Cool air keeps them in their cluster)
- Preparing the Hive
Before your bees arrive, set up your new hive in a suitable location. :
-> Sunny location
-> Has some shelter from strong winds
-> Has easy access to fresh water
Make sure your hive components are ready:
-> Bottom board
-> Entrance Reducer
-> Deep brood box with frames
-> Inner cover and lid
-> Feeder
-> Extra box or spacer rim if using a top feeder.
- Installing the Bees
Here’s a step-by-step method for installing your package bees:
Step 1: Suit Up – Do not use a smoker.
Although package bees are generally calm, wearing protective gear is essential. Using a smoker on a package will confuse the bees and may cause drift.
Step 2: Open the Hive Brood Box
Remove several frames from the centre of the brood box to make room for the bees. Leave the outer frames in place.
Step 3: QUEEN. Take the staple out from the top of the box – it is holding down the wire that is attached to the Queen Cage.
The Queen cage will either have a Queen inside (New Zealand bees) or a phermone strip attached to it (Tasmanian bees)
Open the top of the package box carefully. The bees will start flying. Don’t panic, they won’t go far.
Remove the Queen cage first if possible and then the food container. (*if you are doing method 4b, below, leave the syrup in there but if you are shaking the bees out, take the syrup/food can, out).
*New Zealand bees: Check the Queen cage to make sure the Queen is alive. Remove the plastic cover covering the fondant plug so the bees can access it.
*Tasmanian Bees: Phermone Strip – put in a trash bin with a lid on it so the bees don’t follow it. Get your Queen that is in the cage and put tape over the fondant end so the bees can’t get to her too soon. Hang her between frames * See next point. Take the tape off after 3 days. After day 6 make sure the queen is out of the cage. If she is still in the cage, open it and release her.
-> Where to put the QUEEN: Hang the queen cage between two central frames, at the top, using a wire or pin, with the candy end facing up and not blocked.
-> 6 Days after: CHECK THAT YOUR QUEEN IS OUT OF THE CAGE.
Step 4: OPTION 1: Shake the Bees into the box
Give the package a gentle shake to dislodge the bees to the bottom, then pour or shake and brush them into the hive cavity you’ve made. Don’t worry about getting every last bee out – any stragglers will find their way out.
Gently put the center frames back in, so that the box is full again.
Step 4B: OPTION 2: ‘Two’ HIVE BOX Method.
Leave the bees in their box, on top of frames, with an empty hive box around them. This is to prevent wandering since they have no pheromone scent to draw them back. NO SHAKING
- 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.
- Add a second Box.
- 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.
- 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)
- 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.
- Put on the inner cover and hive cover.
- 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
- Feed then or the next day but be quick.
Step 5: following 4a Method. Reinstall Frames
Gently replace the frames around the bees. Be cautious not to disturb the queen cage.
Step 6: Feeding Bees
Some people feed the bees during the installation process, some people wait till the next day. That is your judgment call. Weather may play into it.
Lay a partial patty on the top of the frames during your first inspection. About a week after you install the bees.
- Syrup and Fondant: *REMEMBER, bees don’t drink syrup if it is cold. They drink at 9C.
Fondant is best used with syrup in March as an added option for the bees.
Feeding syrup can possibly be done the day of installation if the bees seem settled, but not later than the next day. The can of food from the package can be place a few feet in front of the hive, upright. The bees will finish it off.
*If you are using a frame feeder, fill it or add it after the bees have settled so that you are not shaking bees into and having drowned bees.
Newly installed package bees don’t have food stores or comb, so feeding is essential for survival and wax production.
Sugar Syrup:
-> Use a 1:1 ratio of white sugar to water (by weight or volume).
-> Mix until the sugar dissolves completely. Hottest tap water is usually hot enough to dissolve it.
-> Add to your Syrup: HONEY-B-HEALTHY or HIVE ALIVE plus Fumagillin-b. This is for bee gut health and to give them a strong start.
-> Do not use brown sugar, molasses or artificial sweeteners, as they can be toxic to bees.
-> Use a top feeder or frame feeder depending on your preference. Using a front feeder on a package may encourage robbing and is not recommended.
-> Feed regular for at least the first 3–4 weeks or until you see steady comb building and pollen/nectar coming in naturally. Stop feeding when the bees have drawn out all the frames in the brood box.
Step 7: Close the Hive.
Inner cover and Hive cover.
Step 8: Leave the Bees to Settle
New Zealand Bees: Avoid opening the hive for the first few days unless necessary.
Tasmanian Bees: after 3 days, Take the tape off of the Queen inside the Tasmanian hives and let the bees chew out the fondant.
Check after 7 days to see if the queen has been released from her cage. If not, call Pat for advice: 250-709-7339
Step 9: Post-Installation Checks (a day with good weather)
After 6 or 7 days, inspect your hive to ensure:
-> The queen has been released
Avoid prolonged inspections during the early stages to reduce stress.
.8. TREAT for MITES:
-> New Zealand Bees need to be treated the first week. Oxalic vapor or APIVAR is recommended.
-> Tasmainian Bees are mite free for about 6 weeks.
- Common Mistakes to Avoid
-> Installing in poor weather: Wait for suitable conditions or store the bees properly until then.
-> Failing to feed: New colonies need food immediately to survive and build.
-> Incorrect queen cage positioning: Always place it upright with the candy plug accessible.
-> Forgetting to remove the plastic cap
-> Disturbing the hive too early or too often: Give bees time to settle before the first inspection. A rule of thumb is visit every second week till it gets warmer and then once a week.