How to Install a Package of Bees

Your package has arrived. There's a box of 10,000 buzzing bees sitting in your garage, and you need to get them into a hive. Deep breath. This is simpler than it looks.

Package installation is one of those things that seems terrifying the first time and completely routine by the third. The bees are disoriented from travel, they have no home to defend, and they're generally calm. You're not in danger—you're just moving livestock.

Before You Start

Best time to install: Late afternoon or early evening (4–6 PM). This gives bees time to settle in before dark but reduces the number of confused bees flying around your yard.

Weather matters: Ideally install on a mild, calm day (above 55°F). If it's cold or rainy, keep the package indoors in a cool, dark place and wait for better weather. They can survive 2–3 days in the package if needed.

Feeding before installation: A few hours before installing, mist the screen with 1:1 sugar syrup. This gives them energy and keeps them calm. Don't soak them—a light misting is plenty.

Method 1: The Shake Method (Most Common)

This is the traditional approach. It's fast, effective, and what most beekeepers use.

Step 1: Prepare Your Hive

Remove 4–5 frames from the center of your hive body to create an open space. Lean them against the hive stand—you'll put them back soon. Make sure your entrance reducer is in place (small opening).

Step 2: Remove the Syrup Can

The package has a feeding can on top. Give the package a firm bump on the ground to knock bees to the bottom, then quickly pry off the cover and remove the syrup can. Set it aside.

Step 3: Remove the Queen Cage

The queen cage is hanging from a metal tab under where the syrup can was. Pull it out gently. She's in a small wooden or plastic cage with a few attendant bees. Verify she's alive and moving.

Check the candy plug. One end of the queen cage is plugged with white candy. The workers will eat through this to release her over 3–5 days. If there's a cork covering the candy, remove the cork. If the candy is missing or there's no candy plug, you'll need to release her manually after 3–5 days.

Step 4: Install the Queen Cage

Place the queen cage between two center frames, candy end UP. Some people rubber-band it to a frame; others wedge it between frames. The key is that the screen side faces outward so workers can feed her through the screen. She shouldn't be able to fall to the bottom of the hive.

Step 5: Shake in the Bees

This is the part that feels crazy. Bump the package firmly to knock bees to the bottom. Turn it upside down over the open space in your hive. Shake vigorously. Bees will pour out like a living waterfall.

Most bees come out in the first few shakes. Some will cling to the sides. Keep shaking until you get most of them out, then set the nearly-empty package in front of the hive entrance—stragglers will walk in.

Step 6: Replace Frames and Close Up

Gently replace the frames you removed. Don't worry about crushing a few bees—it happens. Move slowly. Place your inner cover, outer cover, and feeder. Reduce the entrance to the smallest setting.

You're done. Walk away. Leave them completely alone for 5–7 days.

Method 2: The Slow-Release Method

This is gentler and some beekeepers prefer it. Instead of shaking, you let the bees walk out on their own terms.

1. Prepare your hive the same way—remove a few frames to create space.
2. Remove the syrup can and queen cage as above.
3. Install the queen cage between frames.
4. Set the entire package (with the opening facing up) inside the hive body, in the space where you removed frames.
5. Put the inner cover on, but leave a gap or use a shim so bees can exit the package.
6. Check in 24–48 hours. Once most bees have moved onto the frames, remove the empty package and replace the remaining frames.

This method is less stressful for bees and beekeeper alike. It takes longer but results in the same outcome.

The Critical First Week

Day 1–5: Leave them alone. Seriously. Don't peek. The bees need to accept the queen, and every time you open the hive you disrupt pheromone communication. Keep the feeder full; that's the only interaction needed.

Day 5–7: Check queen release. Open the hive and check the queen cage. Is she out? If the candy is eaten through and the cage is empty, she's loose. Remove the empty cage.

If she's still caged after 5 days, manually release her. Remove the screen or cork and let her walk onto the frames. Don't just dump her—let her walk out on her own.

Day 10–14: First real inspection. Now you're looking for eggs. Tiny white rice grains standing upright in cell bottoms. If you see eggs, your queen is laying successfully. If you see larvae (curled white grubs), even better—that means she was laying at least 3 days ago.

Troubleshooting

Queen is Dead on Arrival

It happens. Contact your supplier immediately—most will send a replacement. Keep the workers fed and housed; they can survive a few days queenless while you wait for a new queen.

Workers Killed the Queen

If you release her too early, or if she was poorly mated, workers may reject (ball and kill) her. You'll find her dead on the bottom board or the cage will have dead bees clustered around it. Contact your supplier for a replacement queen.

No Eggs After 2 Weeks

The queen may have failed, been killed, or was never properly mated. If there are no eggs and no queen visible after 14 days, you likely need a new queen. Don't wait—a queenless colony will decline rapidly.

Bees Clustering Outside the Hive

Some clustering near the entrance is normal (called bearding). If a large ball of bees is hanging outside and ignoring the hive, they may not have accepted it. Usually this resolves in 24–48 hours as they settle in. Make sure the queen is inside and they'll follow.

Feed, Feed, Feed

A package colony has nothing—no comb, no food stores, no brood. They need to build everything from scratch, which requires enormous resources.

1:1 sugar syrup (1 pound sugar to 1 pint water) should be available constantly for the first several weeks. Don't stop feeding until they stop taking it, or until you've added a second box and both are being filled.

Underfeeding is one of the top reasons new packages fail. Be generous.