A local College needs some bees removed from a dorm building. We are several weeks away from any natural forage, but the bees up here are getting active. Would it be to stress-full to remove them now while their numbers are low and put them up and keep them fed? Or would I be better off waiting a spell?
Thanks................Joel
Unless there's a time crunch, my 2-cents is wait until the dandelions start blooming. Right now they are under stress looking for food and the queen may just now be starting to lay eggs. If you get them when there's a small nectar flow on they'll be more docile and focused on the young. They'll also have a better chance of surviving as they'll have some newly emerged bees to carry the load during the transition period instead of overwintered bees.
Again just my 2-cents, and I may be overcharging.
It's worth a nickel in my book. There's no way I would touch them before the first flow begins.
College Coed's, I would wait till it warms up to at least 75.
G(o)(o)d scenery regards
Thanks for all the excellent advice!... kinda what I expected.
D, after this long winter up here we will only have to wait till it's 65, and there are some added benefits to that too.
wonder what kind of benefits your talking about