Every February we are so very tempted to arrange package bees! But they come in the middle of March and you know what the Yukon looks like at this time of year. Here's some things to consider and are for conversation purposes:
Nucleus Hives (Nucs)
What they are: A small, established colony (typically 4–5 frames) with a laying queen, brood in all stages, workers, food stores, and drawn comb.
✅ Pros
- Established, proven queen with visible eggs and brood
- Brood in all stages ensures steady population growth
- Faster spring build-up, often reaching strength weeks ahead of packages
- Lower early failure risk compared to queen introduction in packages
- Drawn comb included, reducing the energy cost of wax production
- Often locally adapted when sourced from regional breeders
- We know the producer and their apiary
- Well suited to short northern seasons, including the Yukon
- Provincially inspected
⚠️ Considerations / Cons
- Higher upfront cost
- Limited availability
- Disease risk if sourced from outside the region
- Because nucs include brood and used comb they can bring in undetected brood disease, sourcing locally and from reputable producers is essential
- Requires extremely careful transport and handling
Package Bees
What they are: A box of loose worker bees (usually ~3 lbs) with a caged queen, no brood, and no drawn comb.
✅ Pros
- Lower initial cost
- Widely available and easy to transport
- Clean equipment start with new foundation (no brood disease)
❌ Cons
- Arrive early for Yukon spring conditions
- Package bees are typically shipped when southern producers are ready, not when northern forage and temperatures are reliable. In the Yukon, packages often arrive before consistent flying weather, natural nectar, or pollen are available, increasing stress and mortality.
- Colonies rely entirely on supplemental feeding for weeks, sometimes longer
- Slower colony build-up
- No comb or brood means a 3–4 week delay before population growth begins
- Queen acceptance is not guaranteed
- Higher early colony loss rates, especially during cold snaps
- Increased biosecurity risk with imported packages. Many package bees are sourced from New Zealand. While regulatory controls exist, importing live bees carries an inherent risk of introducing pests such as Tropilaelaps mites, which are not established in Canada and would pose a serious threat if introduced.
Why This Matters in the Yukon
The Yukon’s spring is late, variable, and unforgiving. Bees that arrive before stable temperatures and forage are forced into survival mode rather than growth. This is hard on colonies and increases losses. Choosing regionally produced nucleus colonies:
- Aligns colony development with real seasonal conditions
- Supports regionally responsible, Canadian beekeeping