> ................ last week i had a 6ooo bee shipment with an italian queen
> delivered to Richfield Wisconsin all were dead on arriveal. i called York bee
> in Georgia and they told me the bees were overheated and was the fault of the
> post office. they said if i pay the shipping they will send out another box
> and queen. i said fine today they came same deal all dead. now precious time
> has gone by. who in your estimation
> is to blame. the weather here is in the sixties now does the fault go to the
> driver the post office or the shipper (York Bee) its a dirty shame these
> wonderfull bees perish because of improper care. what do i do now??? jerry
> from Wisconsin
 
York has a good reputation so I don't believe it's their fault, but I
had exactly the same problem. Three years running, I lost most (sometimes
all) of the bees being shipped by York. One time, not only the initial
shipment arrived dead, but the re-shipment and the re-re-shipment! I
suspected something was wrong somewhere along the way (for instance, a
postal worker with a spray can), so I decided to change routes and ordered
from California. I'm in New York State, so package bee shipments from
California take a long time. Luckily, all packages arrived happy and healthy.
Their syrup was getting very low, but everything was fine.
 
Despite the story above (I guess I've been reading too much of Andy's
postings), the best thing to do is speak to beekeepers in your local area.
They'll know who to order from; there might even be a local nuc supplier.
 
Conrad Sigona
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