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Broke-T - Please let us know how it works? I am very curious to see how it goes.
Shipping queen cells
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I have a customer who wants 30 queen cells shipped to him. He's about 3 hours away one way and doesn't have time for a 6 hour trip. I can UPS them overnight in a rightway shipper but have never attempted this yet. For those who have shipped or received cells how were they packaged? Did they have attendant bees around them for temp control?
I planned on putting them in cell protectors stuck in shipping bars with foam on top to prevent movement. I also planned to add a cup of bees to keep them warm.
My cells normally start emerging Tue afternoon and go thru Wed morning. If I ship on Mon afternoon he will get them Tue morning and will get them in hive that afternoon. I often put my cells in the hive on Mon afternoon but handle them gently. Shipping will be a lot rougher.
Anybody with experience have opinions?
Johnny
I planned on putting them in cell protectors stuck in shipping bars with foam on top to prevent movement. I also planned to add a cup of bees to keep them warm.
My cells normally start emerging Tue afternoon and go thru Wed morning. If I ship on Mon afternoon he will get them Tue morning and will get them in hive that afternoon. I often put my cells in the hive on Mon afternoon but handle them gently. Shipping will be a lot rougher.
Anybody with experience have opinions?
Johnny
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Had 20 cells shipped to me from Florida last late spring. Shipped in a Riteway box with 2 bars. Cell protectors on each cell. Fondant. and about 1 Lb of bees. Shipped on a Thursday night and I P/U first thing Friday am from UPS. All went well. Almost was able to make a small nuc from all the bees...
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He's likely better off making the round trip. If they are 10-day old cells, they are VERY FRAGILE.
A Cell Starter hive with 2-day-old cells travels much better.
A Cell Starter hive with 2-day-old cells travels much better.
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201 Posts
you have the packaging correct. Add enough bees to keep the cells warm. Fondant and a wet sponge for water. Do not forget a piece of wax paper between the cell cups and the foam board to keep them from sticking to the foam. We have had very good success with cells shipped from Fl this way.They are shipped overnite UPS for 8Am pickup at the nearest UPS terminal. Saves a few hours of bouncing in the UPS delivery truck.
Nick
Nick
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6,781 Posts
Just for clarity what I refer to as a 10 day old cell is one that has been grafted approximately 240 hours before. At that stage they can stand a reasonable amount of handling without damage and its the age of cell we typically install in a nuc. Dave Miksa has built up quite a business overnight shipping such queen cells and by the accounts that I have heard customers have had good success with them.
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