Package Bee fatalities

Beekeeping - Basics
1

So my order of package bees from Mann Lake arrived 24 hrs ago with over 2” dead bees at bottom. I contacted customer service with photos and haven’t heard from them yet. The shipment was delayed by a day so they are likely needing to get out of the box soon. What should I do with the weak starter bees left?

Sell Queen to someone nearby?
(Still in Queen cage)

Release them and see what happens?

Keep them in shipping container?

Other?

2

They won’t want them back. I would just install them anyway, and wait for the reply. They are usually pretty fast in responding

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3

Sad to hear…feed them with a feeder or baggie inside the hive & provide water close to or at the entrance to help them recover. Hope they do okay :slightly_smiling_face:

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