Package Bee Week

[sugarbush]

As some of you know I am a package bee distributor here in New England. Last week was Bee Week for me and I thought I would share some of the pictures I took. I really didn't take many as I am so busy I forget to get out the camera.

The first picture is a bee trucks worst nightmare; a traffic jam. The packages are so tightly packed on the trailer that they can suffocate if you are held up in traffic. I carry several fans with me and a generator and in case of delays I start the fans to keep air flowing over the bees.

The second picture is the holding area for the packages at Gardner Apiaries in Baxley GA. The packages in the picture are all waiting to go on my trailer. There are some more behind me, the total load was 485 3 lb packages.

 

[VEG]

would love to see more pics, looks like you have been busy. Did the bees make it through the traffic ok?

 

[sugarbush]

The next picture is the machine they use to can the HFCS that they place in the package to feed them while in transit. They punch two small holes in the can for the syrup to drip out. The holes are two small for the bees to suck much through, but the motion of the trailer while in transit forces small amounts of syrup into the cluster for them to take up.

The 4th picture is of the two types of packages available here in the USA. The packages to the left are 3 lb and the ones to the right are 2 lbs... Northern bee keepers use 3 lb packages and southern use 2 lb packages.

 

[VEG]

I may be wrong but I dont know of a supplier here in the UK that does packages

 

[sugarbush]

This group of pictures is the guys spacing the packages on the trailer. They staple strapping between them to keep air space between them and it also keeps them from shifting in transit.

 

[sugarbush]

After a hard days work my co-pilot takes a nap. The trip is 2800 miles total. I do it in three days and only sleep one night. On the way back I can't stop for more than a few minutes at a time.. The bees have to be kept cool and I take plenty of water with me to spray over them. Once back I have several locations I stop at to drop bees off to customers. Once it is all done I get to get some well deserved sleep.

 

[sugarbush]

Did the bees make it through the traffic ok?

I was actually empty when I took the traffic picture. I take I-95 south to get there, but because it is notorious for heavy delays I come back north on a truck route that is farther west... It takes about 5 hrs longer, but is better than loosing all the bees because of a traffic jam.

 

[flemage]

Looks great!

wonder why we dont see packages?

 

[johnandyrob]

I looked in packages think they would be cheaper than nucs there are a few places that do them in the UK but they are about the same price as nuc. Thanks for the pictures its interesting to see the scale and the methods that is used in other countries.

 

[Luminos]

Looks great!

wonder why we dont see packages?

Probably all stuck on the M25

 

[alanf]

The next picture is the machine they use to can the HFCS that they place in the package to feed them while in transit.

For anyone else puzzled by HFCS, I looked it up. High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Thanks for the photos. Always interesting to see how someone else does it.

 

[jackbee]

For anyone else puzzled by HFCS, I looked it up. High Fructose Corn Syrup.

Thanks for the photos. Always interesting to see how someone else does it.

Isn't HCFS thought to be a bad food source for bees, sugar make-up and microbes just not right??

 

[jackbee]

All those packages reminds me of the Bee movie on telly yesterday and the HoneyFarms scene

 

[alanf]

Isn't HCFS thought to be a bad food source for bees, sugar make-up and microbes just not right??

HCFS is available cheaply in the US because corn (maize) growing is subsidised and they restrict or tariff sugar imports. Not what you might use on this side of the Atlantic but over there it's used in lots of mass produced foodstuffs as an alternative to sugar and has become the economic choice. Most of the problems as bee food appear to be associated with HMF production if it's stored at higher temperatures. http://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/jf9014526

 

[jackbee]

HCFS is available cheaply in the US . . . but over there it's used in lots of mass produced foodstuffs as an alternative to sugar and has become the economic choice.

but not necessarily the better choice.

 

[sugarbush]

Corn Syrup is cheap and doesn't have to be mixed with water, which is why it is used as bee feed here. I don't feed corn syrup, but most supply houses sell it in bulk as bee feed. All of the commercial operations feed it. I can't comment on whether it is harmful to the bees or not. I haven't read any studies on that.

Sorry if I confused anybody with the abbreviation. It didn't even occur to me that you would not know what I meant.

As far as price goes packages are far cheaper than a nuc here. I get $84.00 per package and a Nuc is about $130.00. Far more bees come in the package, and they really take off if you have drawn comb to put them on. They also don't come with Small Hive Beatles like Nucs do and junk frames.

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Acronyms should be banned from the Forum

TTFN.


Dusty

 

[tonybloke]

but not necessarily the better choice.

says who?

 

[Dishmop]

if its used instead of sugar and if they fill junk food with it, it might just explain a few things...

 

[tonybloke]

if its used instead of sugar and if they fill junk food with it, it might just explain a few things...

can you explain 'junk food'?

fat, protein and starch are the usual basic ingredients in food, which bit is 'junk'?