Delivery Date Policy
Why are your delivery dates tentative?
Because we’re hauling live animals, and live animals don’t care about calendars.
Our 2027 deliveries are scheduled for April 2027. Those dates are our honest best plan. They are not a guarantee, and in every season we’ve run, some of them have moved.
Here’s what moves them: a late blizzard across the I-94 corridor. A heat wave that makes it unsafe to have bees sitting in a trailer. Our California supplier running a week behind because their spring ran late. A mountain pass closed. A colony health issue we catch before loading and won’t pass along to you.
We will not deliver on schedule if delivering on schedule puts the bees at risk. That’s the whole rule. If the choice is hitting a date or handing you healthy bees, we hand you healthy bees and we move the date. We’d rather tell you that now than apologize for it in April.
How much do dates usually change?
Usually a little. Occasionally a lot.
Most years the adjustments are small — a stop shifts by a few hours, or a wave moves by a day or two. Some years a whole wave slides by most of a week. Time windows get tweaked more often than dates do, because a route with dozens of stops across many states compounds every delay down the line.
We announce changes as soon as we know, by email and on our website. The further out the change, the more notice you get. A weather call made the night before is a weather call made the night before — we can’t do better than that, and we won’t pretend otherwise.
Do nucs and packages arrive on the same day?
No. They never do. We deliver nucs first, then return through the same towns with packages about two weeks later. If you order both, you will have two separate pickup dates.
This is deliberate. We carry a handful of replacement nucs on the package run, so if your colony has a problem we can hand you a replacement rather than making you wait until next season. We carry a limited number, so it isn’t an unlimited guarantee — but it’s why the route runs in this order.
What happens if the new date doesn’t work for me?
Call us. (701) 809-0153. You have three options and we’ll help you pick one:
- Alternate pickup — send someone else, or arrange a different time or place if the route allows it
- Hold at home base — we bring your bees back to Fargo and you collect them from us
- Consignment resale — we sell your bees to another beekeeper and settle up with you
What we can’t do is run the route twice. Once the truck leaves a stop, it’s gone — there are dozens of people waiting down the line and living animals in the back. That’s why we ask everyone to arrive 15 minutes before their window opens.
Am I still responsible for pickup if the date changes?
Yes. Placing a pre-order commits you to collecting your bees on the final scheduled date, whatever that turns out to be.
This is the part people find hardest, so here’s the reasoning. We buy bees months ahead based on pre-orders. Your colony is produced, transported, and routed specifically for you. Once it exists, it’s alive and it needs a home — we can’t put it back. A missed pickup isn’t an unsold item on a shelf, it’s a colony with nowhere to go.
If you know in advance you can’t make it, call us early and we’ll work something out. If you simply don’t show, there’s no refund. That’s not us being hard — it’s what handling live animals costs.
How will I know my final date?
By email, at the address on your order. We send route confirmations as each wave firms up, then a final confirmation with your exact stop, date, and time window before we roll.
Watch your inbox in early spring, and check that the email on your order is one you actually read. Add us to your contacts so we don’t land in spam — a missed email is the single most common reason someone misses a pickup.
Questions?
Call or text (701) 809-0153, or email info@littleapiaryontheprairie.com. We’re always happy to help, even if you didn’t get your bees from us.