# Mailing Queen Bees



## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

I shipped my first two queen bees out the other day and I was somewhat concered on how to do it and even if the post office would mail them. They are unhappy people there! 

Anyway, I never really paid attention to see how my past queens were mailed to me but this is what I did:

I caged the queens with worker bees and used marshmellow for the candy. Than I place the queen cage on top of a piece of card board and take it down across the top and bottom. Than I taped the cardboard piece to the inside of the Priority Mailing Envelope, punched some holes in it with my scissors (I actually did this before the queen was inside of the envelope), stuck on the adress and phone number, taped on little pieces of paper that said "LiveQueen Bees. Please be carefull. Please keep out of direct sun light". And mailed them off.

I mailed them flat rate Priority mail 2-3 days with tracking. 

Was this the right way to do this? I used the JZBZ queen cages. 

Any other advice? Should I have used a box?


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## BjornBee (Feb 7, 2003)

I use priority when its within a state or two or I know the history of the buyer and he has had no problems previously. For anything further than the "next state over", I use express, which carries automatically a $100 insurance. 

I know someone on beesource who bad-mouthed a supplier who did not drive the twenty miles to send them UPS or Fed-ex. Twenty miles plus the extra labor/time ....with todays gas prices and my hourly rate.....I always wondered if they would of paid the extra $100 dollars+ for a queen... Anyways..

I do not use marshmallows. In the heat they can get sticky and trap a queen. I used commercial fondant mixed with added powder sugar. This may make it a bit hard, but I would rather have it that way than to soft.

I know priority has "confirmation". This just lets you know the recipient recieved it, but I did not know you could "in-house" tracking of the travels of the package. I know express has this but priority? 

After all the comments recently about USPS, I must confess. I mailed queens to Michigan on July 17th. (priority) They are still in route as we speak. This was the first time I had any problems with usps, and really think it had to do with the power outages and storms that week in the mid-west. I know St. Louis is a main hub and they were without power in some areas for a week or more. I am glad I paid the extra insurance for the priority package. Where they are....I do not know. Dead I am sure of...

I also highlight on the package "Please call upon arrival at the Post office" with the phone number. And I never sign the waiver allowing them to place them in a roadside post office box. I ask the reciever to call the post office and let them know they are getting bees. This way they can hold them until the person picks them up.

Sounds like you did it right Chef.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

Crap.... maybe I should have gone express. I guess I just have ap roblem with paying the extra amount as a customer. I mean when you pay, for example, $20 a queen and it costs clost to or more for the shipping, it is a lot. 

But I suppose one has to weigh the need of a queen alive versus dead. 

I need to buy a hole puncher to make better wholes. 

I also need a candy recipe... anyone got one??

Maybe I need to tell people Express only unless otherwise directed and anything lower than priority can not be gueranteed. 

Has anyone ever had to claim insurance for dead queens??? Is it a lot of work?

As far as gueranting queen arrivel.... what is the protocal for queens that arive dead? Does the supplier resupply the queen at their expense?


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## Sundance (Sep 9, 2004)

"Has anyone ever had to claim insurance for dead queens??? Is it a lot of work?"

Yes, Yes

"As far as gueranting queen arrivel.... what is the protocal for queens that arive dead? Does the supplier resupply the queen at their expense?"

The shipper has to file the claim with USPS.
As to supplying a new queen..... Many do. It
depends on the situation and supplier.

For shipping one or two queens there aren't
alot of options due to cost. UPS second day
air is simularly priced as Express Mail. And
UPS will come to your door to pick it up. That
saves me a 30 mile round trip to the Post
Office.


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## Iowabeeman (Mar 9, 2003)

I have a good postmaster. I live in a small town so she has time on her hands and is eager for business. She puts our queens in special container so they don't go in with the regular mail. We get ovenight delivery in state. Our of state is a different story. We have to put them on UPS.


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## AdelJeff (Nov 29, 2005)

Phil,
Queen arrived alive and well with her escorts. I was glad the weather turned cooler as she was sitting in the mailbox when I got home. Your right the box was great... I gave them some honey and they all settled down nicely. Installing tonight so hope all goes well. Now me doing the split, that was a production... This should go so much easier I am hoping... 
Thanks again...

Jeff


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## BULLSEYE BILL (Oct 2, 2002)

>The shipper has to file the claim with USPS.
As to supplying a new queen..... Many do. It
depends on the situation and supplier.

The reputable businesses will. Then there are those that will try to make you file the claim even though the paperwork has to go through them. I finally got reimbursed by the USPS after a year of hassles.

We are not accustomed to interviewing the business that we deal with as to their practices, but it is a good idea to know in advance how they will handle problems. When their prospective is "I sold you something, I cashed the check, and shipped it to you. I'm done with you." They are ignoring a very important part of doing business, customer relations. Anyone who understands doing business will acknowledge that there is more to it than manufacturing, sales, and service. There is a mountain of paperwork involved too, it is all wraped up in the price the customer pays, and it is owed to the customer. Hear that Dan?

The most important lesson you can learn is to inspect everything upon delivery. Make the delevery man wait while you open the box, and do not sign anything until after you have done so.


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

Bullseye:

same thing in the culinary field. If you do not look all the way down to the last 20 or so potatoes, than you are wasting your time as they ususally put the bad ones on the very bottom. 

So I guess it is just to provide a lot of different options to the end consumer... especially with shipping. 

For example, those people who want a queen a shiping under $15.00.... than priority flat rate for like $ something goes well but if you wanted a queen right now, next day air in a box might be worth it to you all. 

Options options options.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

I would think that if you allow the buyer to choose shipping options sooner or later you will run into one who will not want to pay for premium service but will complain when queens arrive dead. Many queen shippers will only ship overnight for their own protection. Overnight is the only way we, as buyers, ever have queens shipped. 
Sheri


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

I would think that if you allow the buyer to choose shipping options sooner or later you will run into one who will not want to pay for premium service but will complain when queens arrive dead. Many queen shippers will only ship overnight for their own protection. Overnight is the only way we, as buyers, ever have queens shipped. 
Sheri


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## Chef Isaac (Jul 26, 2004)

True Sheri. Good point. But sometimes certain things are more important to other people. I have worked with a lot of other been breeders when I needed queens. Recenly, John at Old Sols, Tim at honey run apiriaries, and Dan at Purvis all provided me awesome customer cervice. I asked them to have them here guarenneted at a certain date and all of them did great!!!! 

Sheri: Just curious... how many hives you all hive?


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Hi Isaac
I guess we have had some batches of queens delivered dead through no fault of the breeder, it was the delivery service, but we live in the boonies so it is tough. I suppose if one lived near a major mail hub it might be a diffeefent story...
Last year we had 2 batches of 100 arrive dead from the same breeder, he mailed them priority USPS from Louisiana, the first batch took 5(!!) days to get here, the second took 3 but they must have sat in the sun or something cuz they were cooked. Switched to overnight UPS and they got here fine.

We currently have about 1800 hives, want to send 4 loads out to CA almonds.
Sheri


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## Dan Williamson (Apr 6, 2004)

I have only sent a few shipments of queens thru the mail but have had great success with priority mail (so far). 

You can pick up the Piority mail box at the post office. I cut a 2"x3" section out and use duct tape to hold a piece of standard window screen over the hole from the inside. Then I mark the box all over with Live Queen Bees and Handle w/ Care all in Red marker.

I just tape the queen cages right to the Priority box itself. I always put a cap or tape over the end just as a preventative.

I have sent them as far as 600mi away and they arrived in 2 days sometimes and 3 days another w Priority Mail. Queens were always healthy upon arrival.

I don't have much experience. I raised 55-58 queens this year (my first year) and only mailed some of them. I just copied the way I had received queens from others in the past. I haven't received a dead queen yet from the 35 or so I've ordered that were shipped priority mail. 

The problem is that the success rate is largely dependent on the people who handle them at the USPS over which we have no control.

With the right people and processes in place priority mail should work fine in most instances.

[ August 10, 2006, 09:08 AM: Message edited by: Dan Williamson ]


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## peggjam (Mar 4, 2005)

"Many queen shippers will only ship overnight for their own protection. Overnight is the only way we, as buyers, ever have queens shipped."

It helps if you understand that not all areas recieve overnight service. In my neck of the woods you may pay for it, but it doesn't happen. The good thing about this is it is 2day gurentee, so if it doesn't get there in 2 days, the shipping is refunded.


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## JohnK and Sheri (Nov 28, 2004)

Peggjam
Our location is in the boonies, priority sometimes doesn't get here within 3-4 days, and like your area, USPS can't get things to us overnight either, no matter what you pay.
UPS WILL get Queens from anywhere in the US to us the next morning. That, to us, is worth paying for. If you live in an area with better connections, priority might be fine. I would imagine that when just getting a couple the cost might not be justified but we order at least 100 at a time so it is a small extra charge for peace of mind in the big picture.
As for shipping being refunded, that would be no consolation if the shipment is valuable. Fortunately for us with our batches of dead queens, the breeder sent replacemnts and he worked out the details with the USPS. I don't know what was resolved in that department, but I think he sends all his queens UPS overnight now.
Sheri


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I put them in JZBZ cages. I make the candy from just sugar and water. I take a small amount of sugar, add water until it's like paste, heat until it's bubbling in the microwave, add sugar until it's doughy and put it in the candy tube of the cage.

I shipped a lot of them Priority with no problems until the summer heat. Then I started losing a lot of them, so I decided to go to only shipping them Express mail. I have lost a few that way, but not many. I use the large flat rate envelope and punch holes around the edges with a paper punch for air. I cut one small hole in the center for added ventilation. I stamp it with a red stamp that says "Live Queen Bees" several places on both sides. I put a copy of the state inspection certificate inside and tape it to the inside. I put a cap on the candy. It would take me at least an added hour to ship them any way but USPS. My time is already worth more than the queens sell for.


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## Dick Allen (Sep 4, 2004)

Mine arrived the next day. Those "bonus" grandma queens you tossed in are laying well too Michael. Thanks









[ August 16, 2006, 10:37 PM: Message edited by: Dick Allen ]


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## deenr (Jul 21, 2017)

Chef Isaac said:


> I shipped my first two queen bees out the other day and I was somewhat concered on how to do it and even if the post office would mail them. They are unhappy people there!
> 
> Anyway, I never really paid attention to see how my past queens were mailed to me but this is what I did:
> 
> ...


I live in southern Indiana and I've had queens shipped from Texas and California using USPS 2-3 day and, so far, my queens have arrived in good shape. The key is to make sure the buyer notifies the post office to hold the package for pick up at the post office. DO NOT LET THEM PUT QUEENS IN A RURAL MAILBOX unless you like them cooked to a crisp. One seller even told me to duct tape my mailbox shut so the carrier would have to honk to get you out or take the package to the door if the postmaster failed to hold the package.


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