HELLO FOLKS
i AM NEW TO BEE KEEPING AND I JUST SET UP 4 HIVES YESTERDAY MID AFTERNOON. i CHECKED MY QUEEN CAGES 24 HOURS LATER AND ALL 4 WERE STILL IN THEIR CAGES. MY QUESTION IS HOW LONG DOES IT NORMALLY TAKE FOR THE WORKERS TO EAT THE CANDY TO RELEASE THE BIG LADY?? EVERY THING LOOKS GREAT I CANT BELIEVE HOW QUICKLY THE BEES CAN DRAW COMB!! aNY FEED BACK WOULD BE HELPFULL. i AM IN NORTHER vt AND IT IS STILL COLD AT NIGHT IF THAT HELPS THE PICTURE OF MY SITUATION.. THANKS DAVE :shock:
First off, your caps lock is on and that's annoying.
Second, it takes the bees about 3 days to free the queen.
I hived mine and the girls ate the candy let the queens go by the time I checked the hive 3 days later.
You will get several different opinions here on how long it should take.
Some here do a direct release when they hive thier packages.
But I let mine go 3 days and checked and the hives is thriving.
Good luck and welcome to the forum.
Also I'm in Massachusetts and the 1st couple of days after hiving the packages it dipped to the 20s and the hives are fine.
Hi Dave,
The others have answered your question, so I'll just welcome you to the forum.
First, add your location to your profile. When you post questions we probably won't remember you're in VT. Having your location visible will help to provide more accurate answers.
Second, are you connected with a local beekeeping club? Online forums such as this are great places to learn about bees, but nothing beats having a mentor or knowing a few nearby beeks who can help show you the ropes.
http://www.vtbeekeepers.org/page2.html
Third, I use the forum's 'seach' function a lot. Very often I find that my question has been discussed previously so I can find an answer immediately. If you're impatient - like me - that's very useful!
Welcome!
Dave, welcome to our forum. You have found THE place that will help you to get to become a good beekeeper. Ask you questions, you have already began. When you get a moment of free time, tell us a little bit about yourself in the greetings forum. We love to hear stories and such from new members (and all members, for that matter), and we love to know what all is up to (especially me, I am the nosey one, hee, hee). Good that you got your packages hived. Have a beautiful, most wonderful day, Cindi