Detailed Explanation of the Key Points of Package Bee Rearing and Management Techniques

Package bee rearing and management includes: rearing methods for package bees, conditions for producing and rearing package bees, construction of bee cages, preparation of feed, rearing of package bee queens, production of package bees, caging work, transportation of package bees, and package bee rearing techniques.
Package bees are colonies that contain only bees and a queen, without combs or hives, and are sold (or transported) in gauze cages. In developed beekeeping countries in Europe and America, package bees sold by bee breeding farms are calculated by the weight of the bees (pounds), so they were formerly called pound bees. Bee breeding farms and queen-rearing farms are mostly located in the south where there are spring nectar sources, and are mainly sold to the north for rearing from March to May.
In the north, package bees are mostly reared for one beekeeping season (about half a year), and the colonies are killed after the autumn honey harvest is completed. This not only saves the honey stored as winter feed for the colonies and increases the per-colony yield, but also saves half a year of manual management. In southern China, spring provides abundant nectar and pollen sources such as rapeseed, Chinese milk vetch, and broad bean, and the warm climate is favorable for colony reproduction, making it an ideal place for producing package bees. In the north, the overwintering period is long, feed consumption is high, and bee overwintering mortality is high; however, the main nectar plants in summer are abundant, so rearing package bees helps achieve high yields of bee products.
　　
I. Rearing Methods for Package Bees
There are the following methods for rearing package bees:
1. For production rearing by northern apiaries
In spring, northern apiaries buy package bees from the south, transfer them into hives, and rear them to produce honey, royal jelly, bee pollen, and other products. When there is no nectar source in autumn, the colonies are killed, and bee larvae and pupae can also be obtained. After the hives, combs, and beekeeping tools are cleaned and disinfected, they are properly stored for future use. This rearing method can save about 20 kg of honey used as winter feed for the colonies, increase honey production, and also save half a year of work in managing the colonies.
2. Using package bees to strengthen weak colonies and queenless colonies
Some colonies overwintering in the north may, due to various reasons such as poor feed and poor management, be weakened after overwintering to the point where they cannot survive independently, or may have lost their queen. Package bees can be merged with them so that they can be put into production when the main honey flow arrives.
3. Promoting improved varieties
Apiaries selling package bees must guarantee quality; they must be bee varieties with high yields of honey and royal jelly, mainly young bees, and the bees must be healthy and free of pests and diseases. Southern breeding apiaries promote high-yielding honey and royal jelly varieties, or selected pest- and disease-resistant bee varieties, in the form of package bees.
4. Assisting long-distance transportation of strong colonies
In hot seasons, during long-distance transportation of 3 to 7 days, colonies are prone to suffocation and death. If the method of transporting bees with open entrances is adopted, some bees will fly away and be lost, weakening the colony and also affecting the safety of station operations. Before transporting the colonies, part of the bees can be taken from a strong colony, placed with 1 queen cell, and transported in cages. After arriving at the destination, the virgin queen is removed and they are merged with the original colony. This can both ensure the safety of long-distance colony transportation and prevent bees from flying out.
5. Pollination for crops
Using package bees to pollinate plants is an effective measure to increase yields.
6. North-South cooperation
Mutual assistance and cooperation or joint operation between southern and northern apiaries in package bee rearing is an ideal approach. This can reduce losses and honey consumption from colonies overwintering in the north and oversummering in the south, and also save labor costs during the non-production period.
　　
II. Conditions for Producing and Rearing Package Bees
In addition to establishing apiaries in places rich in nectar plants, apiaries producing package bees need to master improved bee breeding techniques and continuously select and breed high-yielding, disease-resistant bee varieties; master artificial queen rearing techniques and promptly produce large numbers of high-quality queens; and master rapid colony multiplication techniques so that colonies can develop and grow as early and as quickly as possible, in order to supply package bees earlier and in greater numbers.
Places rearing package bees likewise need more than 1 main nectar plant and abundant auxiliary nectar and pollen sources. Because package bees are colonies without hives and combs, hives, combs, foundation frames, and feed (sugar, honey, and pollen or pollen substitutes) must be prepared in advance. Before purchasing package bees, one must master the techniques for transporting, hiving, and rearing package bees.
　　
III. Construction of Bee Cages
Bee cages for transporting bees are usually made by nailing rectangular four-sided frames from wooden boards and fastening galvanized wire gauze on both sides. The length does not exceed 440 mm and the height does not exceed 240 mm, so it can be placed into a standard hive, facilitating hiving operations. The top, bottom, left, and right sides of the bee cage are nailed from wooden boards 10 to 12 mm thick. A round hole about 100 mm in diameter is opened in the center of the top board to hold a feed can or feed cover, and it also serves as the entrance for putting in the bees. If liquid feed such as honey is used, a feed can is installed here; if solid feed such as fondant is used, a feed cover is installed here. The feed cover is made of 8 to 10 mesh galvanized wire gauze, with a diameter of 95 mm and a height of 100 to 130 mm, and the mouth of the cover has a 15 to 20 mm flange.
The size of the bee cage depends on how many bees are loaded. For a bee cage holding 1.5 kg of bees, the outer dimensions are 440 mm long, 240 mm high, and 160 mm wide. For every increase or decrease of 0.5 kg of bees, the length and height of the bee cage remain unchanged, and the width increases or decreases by 20 mm. Then galvanized wire gauze is nailed to the front and back sides of the four-sided frame. The wire gauze must be rolled at the edges and nailed tightly with shoe nails so that bees cannot crawl out. On one side of the round hole in the top board, a saw cut 10 mm long is made, and a small nail is driven beside it. Here, wire is used to hang and secure the mailing queen cage.
Cylindrical bee cages are made of corrugated paper or fiberboard, 350 to 400 mm long, with a large-end diameter of 200 mm and a small-end diameter of 180 mm. A Z-shaped galvanized wire gauze net is installed inside the cylinder, and a feed can and queen cage are tied to its middle section, allowing the bees to cling to the galvanized wire gauze. Wire gauze nets and plastic cylinder plugs composed of several 25 mm wide ventilation fins are installed at both ends of the bee cylinder to prevent bees from flying out and to prevent poor ventilation.
　　
IV. Preparation of Feed
Air-transported package bees use solid feed, while railway or truck transport uses liquid feed.
1. Fondant
The feed used during package bee transportation is the same fondant used for mailing queens. The softness, hardness, and water content of the prepared fondant should be suitable, preferably neither dry nor hard at 15°C and not flowing at 37°C. It is prepared from high-quality white granulated sugar and honey. Ordinary powdered white sugar contains trace amounts of alum, and red raw sugar contains many impurities, so neither is suitable for making fondant, and honey with rust or containing pathogens must certainly not be used to prepare fondant.
(1) Heating method: 2 parts high-quality white granulated sugar and 1 part water are heated and stirred until the sugar is completely dissolved, then filtered through double-layer gauze. 1 part honey is heated to 60°C and filtered. The clean sugar syrup is heated to 112°C, mixed evenly with the honey, and heating is continued with constant stirring until the heat is removed at 118°C. After cooling to about 70°C, stirring is continued until it becomes an ivory-white sugar mass. The prepared fondant is placed in a container, sealed, and stored in a cool, dry place.
(2) Grinding method: High-quality white granulated sugar is ground into fine powder and sifted through an 80 to 100 mesh fine sieve. The coarse powder is ground and sifted again until it all becomes fine powder. First take 70% of the sugar powder, place it on a cutting board or thick glass plate, add 25% honey (honey that has been heated and filtered), then knead back and forth just like kneading dough. During kneading, gradually add the remaining sugar powder until it is kneaded into a white sugar mass that is neither soft nor hard, does not stick to the hands, and does not deform when left standing. The ratio of sugar powder to honey is about 4 to 1.
1.5 kg of package bees consume about 100 g of solid feed per day on average during transportation, and usually 500 g of fondant is added to each cage. If an individual colony finishes its feed during transport, it can be replenished at any time.
Invert sugar can be used instead of honey to prepare fondant. The method for making invert sugar is: add 800 mL of water to 1 kg of white granulated sugar, add 3 g of tartaric acid, and boil for 30 to 45 minutes.
2. Liquid feed
When package bees are transported by train, truck, or ship, liquid feed works well. Honey is put into a glass bottle or tin can, 2 to 3 small holes are drilled in the lid, and the lid is placed downward in the round hole of the top board of the bee cage and secured. Liquid feed cannot be used when transporting package bees by air, because air pressure changes greatly during flight and can easily cause the honey in the bottle to flow out.
　　
V. Rearing of Package Bee Queens
On the premise of ensuring quality, the queens used for package bees should be planned in advance according to the required number and reared according to plan so that supply can be met in a timely manner. The queens must be artificially reared laying queens of the current year or no more than 6 months old, meeting the requirements of the strain, with strong egg-laying ability, offspring bees with strong collecting ability, weak swarming tendency, and relatively strong stress resistance and disease resistance. In order to supply package bees earlier in March, queens need to be reared 1 month in advance, and drones need to be reared 1.5 months in advance. At this time, because temperatures are low, nectar sources are scarce, and colonies have not yet entered their strong development period, artificial queen rearing is difficult, so a batch of queens needs to be reared in the autumn of the previous year and stored for use when supplying the first batch of package bees. For package bees supplied in April and later, queens reared in the current year are used. The number of queens to be reared is arranged in a planned way according to how many package bees are to be supplied. When rearing queens, the number of grafted larvae should be about 1 times greater than the number of queens needed, because the acceptance rate of grafted larvae is 80% to 90%, the mating success rate of virgin queens is 50% to 80%, and a portion must still be culled after the queens begin laying.
　　
VI. Production of Package Bees
The work of producing package bees should begin in the autumn of the previous year. In addition to rearing a batch of queens, mites must be thoroughly controlled, healthy overwintering bees must be reared, and strong colonies must be achieved for overwintering. In the south, where winter temperatures are relatively high and there are nectar and pollen sources, effective technical measures must be adopted to promote and accelerate colony development.
Based on the local climate, colony conditions, and nectar source conditions, a suitable method for rapid colony multiplication in early spring can be proposed so that colonies can develop and become strong as quickly as possible. There is an existing method, and its specific procedure is as follows:
At the end of December or early January, inspect the colonies, understand and record in detail the condition of the colonies, classify colonies with 3 combs of bees or more as large colonies, and those with fewer than 3 combs of bees as small colonies. Small colonies are formed into two-queen colonies, using the management method of two colonies in the same hive. The two colonies may have comparable colony strength, or one may be strong and one weak. Remove empty combs from the nest to crowd the bees together, that is, the first "crowding." For a single-queen colony with 3 to 4 combs of bees, keep 2 combs and place them in the center of the hive, add division boards and insulation materials (insulation frames or straw rolls) on both sides, and place 20 sheets of straw paper over the cover cloth, which both insulates and absorbs moisture. Leave the hive entrance 10 to 15 mm wide, facing south or southwest, with the back against a wall; the spacing between hives should be 10 to 15 cm; place 10 cm thick dry straw under the bottom board, and fill the space behind the hive and between hives with dry straw; cover the hives with straw curtains and plastic film. On sunny days, turn over and air-dry the insulation materials. The middle partition board of a two-queen colony must be very tight, and the bees of the two colonies must not be able to communicate inside the hive; the two colonies on either side of the partition board each keep 2 combs, with the combs close to the partition board and the outer division board, so that the bees are concentrated in one bee space between the two combs. Insulation inside and outside the hive is the same as above. On the evening of the day the combs are compressed, begin feeding the bees, and feed them fully within 3 days so that each comb has more than 500 g of feed reserves. Add sulfonamide drugs (0.2 tablet per comb of bees) or antibiotics (5000 units per comb of bees) to the syrup. After that, carry out daily stimulative feeding with milk syrup. Heat and dissolve 500 g of white granulated sugar and 250 g of water, then add 250 g of cow (or sheep) milk and 1 g of salt, and feed after cooling. Stimulative feeding is not interrupted. At the beginning, small colonies are fed 50 g of milk syrup each time, and thereafter the amount is increased by 10% each day. During cold spells, feed once in the morning and once in the evening.
After 8 to 10 days, when there are full frames of sealed brood in the nest, begin adding combs. When adding an empty comb for the first time, place it in the center of the brood nest. After 4 to 5 days, add a comb for the second time, placing it inside the outermost comb, that is, in the edge-2 position. When adding combs thereafter, likewise place them in the edge-2 position. At the same time, move newly sealed brood combs to the outside and older sealed brood combs to the middle, so that after the new bees emerge the queen can lay eggs in them. After several rounds of adding combs, the number of bees on each comb decreases to about 70% coverage, but the number of brood combs increases. This is the first "spacing out." When the colony develops to occupy 8 to 9 combs, temporarily stop adding combs. At this time, use the method of uncapping the honey cells on brood combs and rearranging combs to expand the queen's egg-laying area. Because a large number of bees emerge, the number of bees increases, gradually reaching a balance between bees and combs (an average of 2000 bees per comb), or more bees than combs (more than 2000 bees per comb), achieving the second "crowding." When the colony develops to more than 9 frames of bees, add a super, move 1 honey comb and 2 brood combs to the super, and add 2 empty combs; also add 2 empty combs to the brood chamber. After such handling, the bees on the combs are again spread out, that is, the second "spacing out." However, there are 6 to 8 brood combs in the nest, new bees are emerging one after another, there are many young bees, nursing capacity is strong, and at the same time temperatures have already risen and nectar and pollen sources have increased, which can further promote the queen's egg laying and provide a large number of bees for package bee production.
　　
VII. Caging Work
According to the bee delivery date, prepare tools and feed in advance, and put the bees into the bee cages step by step.
1. Tools
The tools used include bee cages, mailing queen cages, feed covers or feed cans, platform scales, funnels, iron nails, iron gauze, hammers, pliers, and so on. The bee-shaking funnel has an upper opening diameter of 30 cm, a lower opening diameter of 10 cm, an upper section 55 cm long in cylindrical shape, and a lower section 35 cm long in funnel shape. It is made of galvanized iron sheet, and can also be made of plastic film. When caging bees in large numbers, nail a queen excluder under an empty super, and connect below the hive a funnel whose upper opening is the same size as the super. This can both improve bee-shaking efficiency and prevent the queen and drones from being put into the bee cage.
2. Caging time
When caging during the honey flow, it should be done before the bees go out in large numbers to collect, so as to avoid too much weight loss after the bees arrive at the destination. When nectar sources are scarce, robbing is likely to occur, making caging work difficult, so caging time should be arranged in the early morning or at dusk when very few bees are flying. Once robbing occurs, stop immediately and continue only after the bees have calmed down.
3. Loading the queen
Open the iron gauze on the mailing queen cage, put fondant in the feed chamber, cover it with a layer of plastic film to prevent the fondant from drying out or deliquescing, and then secure the iron gauze again. Put the queen and 7 to 10 bees in through the round hole on the side of the queen cage, plug the entrance and exit holes with a cork or beeswax, and weigh it. Use wire to put the queen cage through the round hole of the bee cage into the cage, wedge the wire into the saw cut to secure it to the top board, and keep the feed chamber at the bottom.
4. Shaking bees into the cage
Place the bee cage on a platform scale, shake the bees, and insert the funnel into the bee cage. Open the hive, find the comb with the queen and set it aside; take out other combs with many young bees, shake the bees into the funnel, and then put the combs back into the original hive. Take out combs and shake bees in sequence until the weight of the bees in the cage slightly exceeds the requirement, then immediately withdraw the funnel and cover the round hole. Most of the bees clinging to the inner cover, division board, and outer combs are older in age, so do not shake them into the cage. Even less should bees be shaken into plastic bags, weighed, and then put into bee cages, because the bees gather together in plastic bags, and when temperatures are high, just a few minutes can cause heat damage and dehydration, resulting in heavy losses. When there is no nectar source, do not mix several colonies of bees into one cage, to avoid biting and killing each other.
5. Adding feed
After the predetermined number of package bees have been caged, sweep clean the bees clinging to the outside of the bee cages, move them away from the apiary, install the feed cover in the round hole, and fasten it by driving a thumbtack or shoe nail every 3 to 4 cm along the upper edge of the cover mouth. Then place a certain weight of fondant or a liquid feed can into the feed cover, and then nail a thin wooden board onto the top board to seal the upper opening. Record the feed weight on the registration card. Place the sealed package bees under tree shade or in a cool, ventilated room to keep the bees quiet.
　　
VIII. Transportation of Package Bees
Package bees can be transported by truck, train, or airplane. Pay attention to securing the bee cages and to management during transit.
1. Securing bee cages
In order to ventilate and dissipate heat from the package bees and facilitate handling, connect every 3 to 4 cages together with 4 wooden strips or bamboo boards, with the gauze windows of each cage facing the gauze windows of the next, spaced 70 to 80 mm apart. The wooden strips are nailed to the upper and lower ends of the side walls of the bee cages, two on each side. The length of the wooden strips or bamboo boards depends on the number and width of the bee cages, and both ends should extend 30 mm longer.
2. Management during transit
For truck or train transport, the transit time is relatively long, so someone must escort the shipment, look after the package bees, and handle related matters. Air transport time is short, so with telegraph contact on both sides, pickup and delivery by someone is enough. When loading or during stops in transit, stack the bee cages neatly, align the gaps, and keep air flowing through the bee cages; also tie and secure them with rope to prevent them from bumping into each other. When transporting by jet aircraft, load the package bees in the front cabin; for propeller aircraft, load them in the rear cabin to reduce vibration. On trains, they should be placed in boxcars near doors and windows with good ventilation. Escorts should carry face nets, nails, hammers, pliers, and fondant feed, and guide the loading, unloading, and placement of the package bees along the way. The bee cages must not be placed upside down, and problems should be dealt with promptly. During transportation, feed water 2 to 3 times a day, observe feed consumption, and replenish it in time.
　　
IX. Package Bee Rearing Techniques
Rearing package bees requires planning in advance, signing purchase and sales contracts with package bee production farms, ordering the required number of package bees, and agreeing on the bee delivery date. Package bee colonies are transferred into hives for rearing, and it takes about 1 month to recover to the original number of bees, and about 2 months to develop and become strong. The bee delivery date should be determined according to local climate and nectar source conditions. It is ideal for package bees to arrive when the earliest local nectar and pollen plants bloom or half a month before blooming.