A daytime traffic jam strikes instant fear in a truck driver transporting bees.

If you read my last post, The strangest things buzz along on pallets, you learned that honey bees can come and go as they please from the hive boxes loaded on the truck. The exceptions are:

1. Bees will stay in boxes if they are moving
2. Bees will stay in boxes if the sun has gone down

I met a driver once that told me a hair-raising honey bee story. His true story is below.

Commercial Bee Transportation
A few years back a trucker pulls into our lumber yard and for some reason I notice a bee suit in his cab. "What's that for," I ask. The driver tells me all about commercial transporting of honey bees for pollination. Next, he told me all about the guy who invented the beehive  pallet. As a pallet pro, he had my full attention.

Bee Suits Supplied
Later I ask him, "so how come I never see other truckers with their own bee suits?" "I learned my lesson" he confides. You see, when transporting bees, the beekeeper always supplies the driver with a bee suit. But, it is usually the oldest and tiredest bee suit the guy has because it might not return. The trucker I was speaking with always used the free bee suit until one fateful day on the Pacific Coast Highway.

Worst Case Scenario
This unlucky driver found himself in a 4-hour traffic jam during the hottest part of the day. Remember, if the truck is rolling down the highway or if night has fallen, the bees stay in their hives. When stopped during the day - especially if it is hot - the bees will leave. Uh oh. Not sure how this guy did it, but he tried to corral all the bees back in their hives. Why? Because several million bees never make a traffic jam better. It was after that unfortunate trip that the driver invested in his own top-of-the-line bee suit. Wise choice.

Roll Up Your Windows
Keep your eyes open when traveling our roads. Peek in the trucks when you can. You never know what might "bee" right next to you. And, if you are stuck in traffic and you see a truck like this near you, keep your windows closed. Or, perhaps, travel with your own state-of-the-art, top-of-the-line bee suit. You know... just in case!

Do you transport bees? Have a story to share? Tell me in the comments below.

​Post by: David Caltrider, President (and beekeeper)

​Do you ever find yourself driving on the highway looking at all the different trucks stuffed with pallets. Do you wonder what they are carrying and where are they going? No? Just me? Try it sometime. It's fun.

In fact, try it right now. Take a look at this photo I snapped in traffic and take your best guess:

​Did you guess right?
Did you guess several million honey bees heading off to work? Ding, ding, ding. You're our winner!

Did you know that commercial beekeepers not only raise bees to make honey, they also rent their bees to farmers for pollination of crops and orchards? How are these honey bees transported? Henny Youngman would answer, "very carefully" and he would be correct.

Honey Bee Boxes and Frames
As a pallet industry professional (who also happens to dabble in beekeeping), I first want to share a few details on honey bee boxes, frames and foundations.

Pallets move almost everything else so why not bees?
In WWII, the US military figured out the best way to move a lot a boxes is on a pallet. The same is true for transporting honey bees for pollination. You may be wondering if a plastic or wood pallet foundation is best. Ask four beekeepers which is better and you will receive 5 different answers - somewhat like pallets themselves!

Just don't drop them!
Honey bees don't like to be jostled about so keeping them snugly in place on the pallet is very important. By the way, the bees are free to come and go as they like from the boxes. This means that if you do jostle or god forbid drop a hive during transport or loading or unloading, the normally docile honey bees turn into a million plus angry flying stinging creatures - ALL of whom are ready to give their lives to protect their queen.

​Remember this... when the queen is happy, the hive is happy. When the hive is happy, the nice man unloading the truck is happy. (Watch for my next post about the unlucky truck driver and the bees - a true story.)

Returning the bees back home
So the bees are now gone from their beekeeper's home and are in an orchard or some other farm. How does the farmer collect the bees after they pollinate so they can go home again or move on to another farm? Easy. Bees always return to their own hive to be with their queen. Plus, once the sun goes down the bees are inside for the evening.

​Have you seen honey bees (or something stranger) buzzing down the highway on pallets? Tell us about it in the comments below.

Post by: David Caltrider, President (and beekeeper)