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Package bees may be purchased in 2-Foand packages for approximately $3 #00 

 to !!i)3.75« For larger units, add approximately ^1,00 for each additional 

 pound, exclusive of shipping » 



The size package required depends upon several factors ; (a) The interval 

 between installation and bloom on the crop to^ggllinated. Packages of 

 two to three pounds, if handled properly, are'^aaequate if they are ob- 

 tained and installed four to six -/reeks before bloom appears on the crop 

 to be pollinated. If the interval between installation and bloom is 

 less than four weeks, especially if only seven to ten days, five pound 

 units are none too big. The shorter the interval between installation 

 and bloom, the larger the unit must be and also the greater need for a 

 larger number of packages e 



(b) The weather during the build-up period is very important^ but we 

 don't know what you can do about it. It seems obvious that larger units, 

 and more of them, will overcome the adverse effects of unfavorable 

 weather to some extent, 



(c) The availability of nectar and pollen from plants blooming ahead of 

 the crop to be pollinated. Here again, vre don't know what you can do 

 about it except to see to it that the colonies are adequately fed as a 

 substitute for the more desirable foods they could ©btain from plants. 



If you do have to rely on package bees, why not contact local beekeepers 

 and make arrangements with them to secure necessary hives and other 

 equipment as well as some labor and "know-how" so as to assure the best 

 possible returns for the money you have spent to secure the bees. In 

 some areas cooperative arrangements have been worked out to the complete 

 satisfaction of both growers and beekeepers. The growers needing bees, 

 buy the packages; the beekeeper takes charge of them when they arrive, 

 installs them in his hives and then keeps the bees as part-payment for 

 the pollination service, 



(5) Having exhausted all possibility of obtaining an adequate bee supply 



locally, you may wish to contact beekeepers in other states. Some of these 

 make the rental of colonies for pollination pxirposes a main partof their 

 business. Transportation costs plus the rental fees may make this an ex- 

 pensive procedure. 



Protect the Beea ; Do everything possible to avoid unnecessary destruction of bees 

 through the unvdse use of insecticides. At times when bees are most active, whether 

 on crop blossoms or on dandelions or other weeds, use those insecticides which are 

 the least toxic to bees. 



If you rent bees or have an arrangement with a beekeeper to handle package 

 bees, make sure the owner has ample opportunity to get the bees away from the orchard 

 before applying post-bloom sprays or dusts. 



Experiments carried out last year and in many other parts of the cotmtry give 

 us no reason to think the aerial spray program carried out for gypsy moth is deleter- 

 ious to bees to the extent that colonies are greatly weakened or lost, 



F»R,Shaw &. E,H,Virheeler 

 Publication Approved by George J, Cronin, State Purchasing Agent - #19 



