The Honey Factory

[duluthralphie]

The bees were delivered at 1:44 PM today. There was no sound whatsoever coming from the package. There was about a 1/2" of bees lying on the floor of the cage. But there was a big cluster hanging from the feeder. There was no movement. The driver marked it as package damaged and recommended filing a claim.

I still have no idea if these were the original package or the replacement package. I put them in front of the fire and warmed them up. There were lots of live bees in the package. I put them in the hive in the greenhouse. They were nearly out of their gel food.

Unfortunately, the queen is dead. I did email Mann Lake about the situation and requested a new queen.

At least temporarily I have a dead queen bee in her cage.

Can I borrow her?

 

[R2elk]

Can I borrow her?

If I don't have to turn it in, you can have it. If pictures of the dead queen will work, I did take pics.

I still don't have any idea whether this is the original shipment or the replacement shipment. I may still have another batch of Saskatraz bees coming or not.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

If I don't have to turn it in, you can have it. If pictures of the dead queen will work, I did take pics.

I still don't have any idea whether this is the original shipment or the replacement shipment. I may still have another batch of Saskatraz bees coming or not.

It'd be nice if someone could get back to you..

 

[R2elk]

It'd be nice if someone could get back to you..

Yes, that would be nice. As it is I know where I can get a quality Italian queen and have it here on the 28th. It will be better than letting this package die because of no queen. I could actually have it here by the 21st but it will still be bad weather then.

I will give Mann Lake a few days to respond first. On the other hand I still haven't heard anything from TSC.

I do have a package of Italians that Mann Lake was supposed to ship today.

 

[BirdsBeesTrees]

Yes, that would be nice. As it is I know where I can get a quality Italian queen and have it here on the 28th. It will be better than letting this package die because of no queen. I could actually have it here by the 21st but it will still be bad weather then.

I will give Mann Lake a few days to respond first. On the other hand I still haven't heard anything from TSC.

I do have a package of Italians that Mann Lake was supposed to ship today.

It seems like a waste, but you can but both packages together with the one queen if you don't get your replacement queen in time.

 

[R2elk]

It seems like a waste, but you can but both packages together with the one queen if you don't get your replacement queen in time.

I will get a replacement queen in time, I just prefer not to have to buy one when they should replace the one that is dead. The confusing part is that they may or may not be already sending a replacement package. If they send a replacement package, I will combine the two packages.

 

[R2elk]

I now have a shipping notice from TSC with a tracking number. These say they are being shipped from Salt Lake City. Last year they sent them by UPS next day air but they picked the boxes up in Salt Lake City, took them to CA where the bees were packaged and flown here the overnight.

I have no clue how USPS is going to do it. They may or may not be here by the end of the week.

 

[R2elk]

The story gets stranger. Just got an automated phone call from Mann Lake saying the bees will be shipped Monday the 26th. I have no idea if it is the Italians they were supposed to ship today or if it is the replacement Saskatraz which by the way they claim are sold out.

Maybe by the end of the month everything will be sorted out.

 

[room onthebroom]

Poor bees! USPS is an unpredictable disaster right now.

 

[R2elk]

Poor bees! USPS is an unpredictable disaster right now.

They can't be any worse now than they were the last time I had bees shipped by USPS. The vendor turned them over to USPS in GA. USPS moved them to Texas and held them there for a week until the bees were dead and then shipped them on to their destinations.

I can't buy from that vendor anymore because they wanted me to pay shipping again for the replacement bees. After a long chat, they decided to refund all of my payment including the shipping charges and told me not to come back. Of course by that time it was impossible to order bees from anywhere else.