I ordered 4 packages of bees and 4 queen bees on January 2, 2014.

The date January 2 is an easy date to remember.  It is my mom’s birthday AND it is the day to order your bees for the coming year.

Why January 2?

Well, because if you are not “Johnny on the Spot” with your order, you do not get any bees!

Bees are in high demand and there are only so many to go around.

There is a problem with Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD).  The bees just die!  Or vanish!  Nobody seems to know what is going on with CCD.  There are tons of theories but nobody has really pegged what is causing the problem.

Last year, I made splits of two of my hives.  I wanted to expand my bee apiary.  The splits did not take.  The queens did not lay or they died or something.  I lost three hives.  That was bad.  So, this year, I chose to purchase package bees and queens.

I was on the phone at 7:00 am CST to call 8:00 EST.  I wanted to be sure to get my bees.  They were already almost sold out for the season!  I think they took orders ahead of time because they advertised that they would not begin sales before January 2.  And they opened at 8:00 am EST.  Hmmm…smells fishy to me.

I ordered 4 packages of 3 pound packages of bees and 4 queens.  Italian hybrid bees.  They are supposed to be gentle.  Supposed to be anyway.  I usually end up getting stung up pretty good every season~through my own stupidity I might add   🙂

My new packages of bees will ship on April 15.  United States Postal Service.  My Postal Carrier is NOT a fan of my bee shipments!  Cannot you imagine him driving around in his truck with the Bzzz, Bzzz, Bzzz serenading him all along his route?  HA!

He has picked up a box with just one little bee in it by the corner and very carefully handed it over.  It is the funniest thing to see~like a bee can sting you through a cardboard box!  Poor Postal Carrier.  He is going to have kittens when he has to deliver 12 pounds of bees plus 4 more boxes of just queen bees!  I will have to remember to have my camera ready…     🙂