In agricultural areas, bees are a necessity. Farmers need these tiny carriers to pollinate their fields and orchards. Countless crops from squash to cherries to cranberries cannot reproduce alone. Without bees, the world would starve, but the crops are far too numerous and too concentrated to leave it up to chance.
Good Pay Per Mile for Hauling Bees
Bee hauling is a lucrative and reliable freight load. For the driver who can handle it, bee hauling can earn $3.00/mile or better. Those drivers who carry their own equipment (nets, suit, etc) will be called more often and paid even better.
Every state with agriculture has bee keepers. Pick up and drop points will vary depending on the apiarists’ contracts. Some go from one warm climate to another; some leave Montana or North Dakota at the start of winter and head for California or Texas, returning in the spring. Crops, weather and pollination seasons drive it all.
Finding the beekeepers to haul for isn’t as hard as it may seem, but it does take a little digging. In Montana alone, there are more than 200 registered beekeepers over the entire state (In Texas, there are a few thousand). According to Montana’s Official State Website, about 40% of those apiaries are commercial. About 36 outfits are migratory, moving their bees at the start of winter from Montana to western and southwestern states where the little pollinators are needed for almond, citrus and other crops. Come spring, they’re moved back.
Beekeepers Need Qualified Drivers
Bee Culture Magazine is an ezine that lists regional apicultural societies and gives contact information for leaders in each region. Interested drivers can contact these people with their availability. When apiarists need a truck, they can call. Other apiculture groups also have their own publications and leaders who may know who needs haulers.
Bee hauling is a short season, generally lasting only a few weeks. There are strict guidelines that must be followed in order to ensure the bees’ safe arrival:
- Load at night. Bees gather pollen and nectar during the day. If their hives are moved, the bees are homeless. They may find another hive and fight their way in, or they may die.
- Once the truck is moving, don’t stop! Plan ahead to drive all day. This is a tough one. Fuel and bathroom stops need to be anticipated and completed at night. During the day, the bees will try to leave and many will make it out of the nets. One thing service station owners don’t want is a truck load of active bees swarming around the tanks. It drives off customers. It’s also a serious hazard if one of those bees stings a person who is allergic to them.
- When moving bees in warm weather, water them down. Bees create intense heat inside the hives. Even when the temperatures dip down below zero (a prime time to move them!) inside the hive temps can reach over 90 degrees. Heat will kill bees. Some trucks are set up with a sprinkler system. For others, drivers can simply use a gentle spray nozzle on a hose, shooting the water up and over the hives, so it falls like rain. The bees need water to cool and to drink.
- Be ready to be stung. If a driver is allergic to bee sting, this is one load he should definitely stay away from. Rich, of Linehan Transportation, averaged four stings per trip from eastern Montana to southern Texas. The bees escape the net then find places they like, such as in the wheel well. When the driver checks the tires, there’s the bee. Anyone can become allergic without warning. Carrying antihistamines like Benadryl can save a life.
- Learn to load and drive carefully! If it’s not on the trailer right, the load can shift. Even if the owner loaded, the truck driver is the one out there on the road who will have to deal with the mess. Each winter, trucks turn over due to shifting hives or trying to corner too fast, especially on icy winter roads. Entire truckloads – meaning millions of bees in each – are completely lost.
Bee hauling isn’t for everyone and certainly not for the fainthearted. But for those who enjoy it, these loads pay well, even in a troubled economy. Good bee haulers are hard to come by. Those who learn the industry and take care of their “passengers” will be highly valued by their customers as well as those whom they refer.
Resources:
Montana Department of Agriculture. Agricultural Sciences Division. (Accessed 1/12/10)
Bee Culture Magazine. Industry People. (Accessed 1/12/10)
Truckers News. "Hive Drive." www.etrucker.com/apps/news/article.asp?id=33722 (Accessed 1/12/10)
Elizabeth Linehan - Elizabeth studied American Sign Language at Brigham Young University. She has worked with hearing impaired and multipli-handicapped ...
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