All the bees I have had in twelve years have either been trap outs, swarms, or packages from a local small bee yard.
My first hive, a KTB hive of bees that I cut out of a water meter needed a queen and somehow I met this local Beek and I bought a queen and her brood was so gentle my son and I worked them naked.
I wanted to get another couple of pounds of bees for a startup, but my friend was unable to help me so I picked up a package from Mann Lake in Winter Haven, Florida.
I might be spoiled since this was my first ?commercial? purchase, but I?m kinda disappointed. Hundreds of dead bees, queen cage waxed nearly all the way closed, syrup can dry as a popcorn fart, and gobs of dirt in the bottom of the crate.
At the ML warehouse in Winter Haven, there were pallets of different breeds stacked 3-4 crates deep. Never thought I would feel bad for bugs, but I can?t imagine how many dead bees?
That evening we watched a possum enjoy the pile of dead bees. So at least they got recycled.
The live bees got hived in a homemade wooden nuc and seem to be doing well sucking up syrup like desert camel.
I did enjoy browsing the showroom at ML, the employees were very friendly and helpful, and it was so amusing to see people's reaction to all the loose bees in the store.