Hi:
 
This is more of a response to Al and his question about shipping
queens long distances.
 
Queens are good for about 10 days in their cages.  If you add a
little water to the screens occassionally they will last even longer.
 
 
We ship queens all over the world, so distance is not a concern.
Actually, they have to travel 2500 miles just to reach LA, so they
are already well travelled.
 
Heat is the biggest concern when shipping queens.  If the temperature
is high enough to melt the candy in the cage, the queens are probably
dead or have turned to drone layers.  Hot bees will look "sweaty" and
"greasy".  Cold (reasonably), during shipping does not seem to be as
lethal to queens.
 
So, to answer your question, time is more of a concern than distance
when shipping queens.  A trip from TX to MA is simple.  A trip from
Hawaii to Israel, Indonesia or Edmonton is a little more complex, but
certain routine.
 
Mark at Kona Queen