Oliverez packages are made for...

[Chrissy Shaw]

someone wanting to start a colony of bees. The bees left California Friday and tonight, after going to Doug Mason's in Idaho to pick them up, they are in their hivebodies. The workers were very young--important in a package. There were NO drones. Drones do not tend brood or build comb in a package colony, and every queen was alive and marked as i asked them to be. I and my neighbor beekeeper Bill, hived them without a single sting. I did finally put on gloves, it was chilly and even the best mannered bee can get cranky after six hours of bouncing in my GMC pickup and then being bounced by me into the hive bodies.

If you are thinking next year and you like the Minnesota and NWC, then get those bees from the master package outfit on the west coast: Oliverez Queen and package bee company. Attention to detail they showed in the order, allows me to know the queens are well done too.

Chrissy Shaw

[Wayne Smith]

I recently installed 100 Italian Olivarez packages onto HSC and agree they are good quality. All the queens were alive and kicking and the bees were very gentle. Out of the first 50 only one queen failed and there is lots of capped brood on the HSC. I haven't been into the second 50 yet. We installed using the water dunking method and then uncorked the queen and placed the cage into corner of the bottom board. We kept most of them locked up for 2 to 3 days so they would hold on the HSC. We opened the entrance on some hives the next morning (after install) and those held just fine.

[Chrissy Shaw]

even though this is on Mann Lake PF-100s, but its too cool for the bees that are out after shaking-in, so i opened them. I did move a couple of full sized colonies with duct tape and that fiberglass seam tape, for spackling, easier then screen when open won't cut it. The wood cages i left corked and the JZ candy end cages i mashed into drawn comb on the drawn PF-100s. I used my hive tool an slit an opening at the top of the foundation of the PF-100s and slid the metal strip through that. Pull the corks in a day or two.

I sat out this morning to see how bad the drift would be, and watching won't tell, but it seems that color variations and placements have kept day one drift down. That can be bad with young bees. I hate going in a week later and having three with one frame of bees and queen and one needing a super (LOL). These are pleasant. I fell asleep in the yard listening to the hum.

Chrissy

[MichelleB]

I've got three packages from them. They traveled well from N. Cal to Seattle to Portland to my outyard, and two went into their boxes today. Very healthy, happy bees. The third package will be installed in the morning at another location, but I'm impressed by how few deadies there are after all these days (packaged Thursday). Nice looking queens, both NWC and Minn Hygenic.