Most new beehives are started by ordering a  package of live honey bees, usually in the three pound size. Here in Michigan we get our packages of bees from bee breeders in the state of Georgia.

Inside these packages of bees is a can of syrup for the bees to feed on during their trip and until they are installed in their new hive. The can of syrup and the Queen Cage are suspended from the inside of the top of the wooden box. The box has screening on the sides for ventilation.

 The Queen and the bees inside the box are originally from separate hives and must be kept apart until their respective odors mix and become one. If this is not done then the bees would kill the queen as she is not one of them.

Allow at least 2 - 6 weeks for delivery, depending on the season. Bee suppliers raise just enough bees and queens to fill orders as they come in. The packages will be mailed to the local Post Office. When they arrive, the Post Office will call and ask you to come down and pick up the bees as soon as you can. Bees make the postal workers nervous for some reason.

Click here for helpful videos showing how to install a package of bees.

You can order packages of bees in February and March for delivery in late April by contacting:

Don Lam in Holland, Michigan (West Michigan)
Click this link for a Package Bee Order Form.
The phone number is 616-886-1116
Don brings in thousands of packages from Gardner's Apiaries in Georgia for beekeepers in West Michigan. These bees will be available for pick-up in Holland in late April.

Chris Barnes at Dadant & Sons in Albion, Michigan (South Central Michigan)
The phone number is (517) 629-2860. Hours are 8 am - 5 pm, closed from 12 - 1 for lunch
Chris offers bees from Gardner's Apiaries in Georgia and bees from California, through Anthony Bee Farms

David Anthony at Anthony Bee Farms in Swartz Creek, Michigan (East Michigan)
The phone number is 810 621-4371
These bees are brought from California in a special climate-controlled moving van

When you want to order honey bees later in the spring or summer, contact:

Gardner's Apiaries in Baxley, Georgia
phone: 912-367-9352
fax: 912-367-7047

Gardner's Apiaries and Spell Bee Co. carries top quality Italian bees and queens. They use northern queens from Michigan, Minnesota and Maine for breeding stock. Their office staff is very pleasant and extremely helpful. Allow 4 weeks for delivery of your bees when ordering from Gardner's. They raise bees specifically for each order, so they need 3 weeks to hatch the bees and another week to ship them to your local Post Office.