HELPFUL NOTES
Bees usually come from more than one hive! We ship anywhere from 5000 to 10000 bees every week, and do not want to take to many from one hive, so we take from more than one hive. If you receive more than 1 crate, you may want to sprinkle the bees with sugar, then lightly spray them with water. That way, when adding the crates together, they are less likely to fight, more likely to clean each other off.
To make bee candy: Put powdered sugar in a bowl, maybe a couple of cups? Make a well in the middle and add a couple of tablespoons of honey. Any honey will do. We use honey from our bees.
Cover the honey with powdered sugar and let it sit for a couple of hours so the sugar starts to absorb into the honey.
I usually fold the sugar and honey until it sticks together, then knead it like dough until it gets to a playdough consistency. Sometimes it is really sticky, I coat my hands with sugar and keep adding sugar to the honey until I get the results I want.
I used to put the honey mix in the microwave for a couple of seconds to make it more pliable, until I gave myself blisters from the hot sugar. Dont do that! Sometimes holding it in your hands will add warmth to make it pliable.
It can be hard to get the perfect consistency. If its to soft, warm it safely and then you can add more sugar. If its to hard, warm it safely and you can add a little bit of honey. With adding honey, a little goes a long way. Start with a very small amount and add more if needed.
I try to make the bee candy not to hard or not to soft. But with shipping, it can harden in the cold or soften in the heat. You can add powdered sugar to make it less sticky or roll it in your warm hands to soften it.
Beezza Hut: One of our previous customers David Seyer, makes the Beezza Huts that are sold on Etsy. He and his wife Wanda have huge hearts for helping others. He also sells other handmade products on Etsy, such as squirrel, and bird feeders, wooden flag wall mounts, etc. Check it out! They are amazing people.
More info on crates/bees: We do our best when shipping bees. We add bee candy to each crate and lightly spray water on each crate before shipping. Please water your bees right away on arrival. If you have a bee house, most people put a cotton ball in a bottle cap and add water. Do not have anything to big where the bees can get stuck in and drown.
Shipping: Do not let your bees sit in a mailbox or porch. We can put a memo on your label for the post office to hold for pickup and we can add your phone number for them to call you on their arrival (At the mercy of the individual post offices)
Having them held will save them from longer periods in a mail truck that could be hot or cold.
We add paper shavings or insulation pads when the weather gets to cold. If you need it added sooner please let us know.
Tracking: Please keep an eye on the tracking for estimated delivery day. It is very sad when they are left for hours or overnight because tracking wasn't looked at. Tracking emails are generated when labels are printed.
We recommend using Fed Ex with a 2 day delivery for $12.50. USPS Priority is also available for $4.50 more. USPS Ground mail (previously First Class) is the cheapest option. It is a cheaper service for those on budgets.
If you have not received a tracking email by Monday, let us know right away. . Please do not wait until Thursday or Friday to let us know an email wasn't received. We are not a big business where everything is auto generated. Everything is hand entered, so we make mistakes sometimes. Please help us by checking for tracking emails - check spam first - Emails will be coming from Endicia.com.