Package season is about over for 2022. Perhaps thankfully too, depending on where in the country you live. Installing packages does not always go well or as depicted in bee books or Internet videos. Sometimes, the weather just does not cooperate. In this week’s episode, Jim talks with Jeff Ott from Beekeeping Today Podcast about installing packages in bad weather.

When you order and pay your deposit in January and February for your packages later in the spring, you envision they will show up on a sunny, warm Saturday. The birds will be singing and the flowers all in bloom. The reality can be way different when the call or email arrives saying the bees are “arriving two weeks early,” and to, “please come pick them up between 6-8:00a this Saturday…”

A quick glance at the weather app calls for rain, sleet, and a high of 38-degrees (Fahrenheit) on Package Day!  What do you do?!

Jim and Jeff discuss two different ways of approaching the issue of installing packages in bad, in climate weather… and then… following up -  releasing the queen.

How do you install packages when it is not a Chamber of Commerce weather day? Do you dump and run? Do you do a gentle release? Do you let the workers release the queen? Do you keep her confined until you are certain they’re ready to accept her? Or… do you quick release her with the new package?

Let us know!

If you like the episode, share it with a fellow beekeepers and/or let us know by leaving a comment in the show notes. We'd love to hear from you!

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Thanks to Betterbee for sponsoring today's episode. Betterbee’s mission is to support every beekeeper with excellent customer service, continued education and quality equipment. From their colorful and informative catalog to their support of beekeeper educational activities, including this podcast series, Betterbee truly is Beekeepers Serving Beekeepers. See for yourself at www.betterbee.com

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Honey Bee Obscura is brought to you by Growing Planet Media, LLC, the home of Beekeeping Today Podcast.

Music: Heart & Soul by Gyom, Walking in Paris by Studio Le Bus, original guitar music by Jeffrey Ott

Photos copyright © One Tew Bee, LLC

Copyright © 2022 by Growing Planet Media, LLC