Regarding how cool queens that have been mailed to you should be kept, from
my personal experience, if they arrive in an envelope and it is placed in a
closed metal mailbox on a hot day, then that is too hot.  I think that's
where the advice "keep them cool" comes from.  Since I live in Texas, I took
"cool" to mean "at room temperature" (under air conditioning since outdoor
temperatures can be at times in the 100's).  Another helpful hint is to make
friends with someone at the post office and warn them in advance that you have
a queen bee coming and how easy it is for them to die in extreme temperatures,
and ask that they give you a phone call when it arrives so you can go down
there and pick it up.  Give them a work phone number if you will not be at
home when the queen arrives.  A queen sitting inside a package in a vehicle on
a hot day makes me feel uncomfortable too.  I'd much rather go and retrieve
them from an air conditioned building.  The people at the post office know me
now, and I appreciate them.
 
Layne Westover
College Station, Texas