I picked up my package this morning and went to install. Unfortunately, I didn't completely seal the hive after I noticed it died and there was a number of bees robbing it out.
I went through and scared all the robbers off the combs and checkerboard the frames, one new empty frame next to a drawn frame. I also turned the hive around. I put the frames that was full of capped honey on the outside and empty or nearly empty comb in the middle. I pulled one of the new empty frames out and wedged the queen cage between two drawn frames after removing the candyside cork and then added the bees on top of her.
I added another deep with checkerboard frames and closed them up. The entrance reducer is at it smallest setting.
How long will it take for the bees to consider the hive "home" and defend it from the robber bees?
If it were me and there were robbers in the hive I would checkerboard like you did, install the bees and add a robber screen the reduced entrance.
The robbers will be so aggressive they will over whelm the new bees.
Quote from: capt44 on April 19, 2014, 05:10:01 PM
If it were me and there were robbers in the hive I would checkerboard like you did, install the bees and add a robber screen the reduced entrance.
The robbers will be so aggressive they will over whelm the new bees.
I'll go back out in about an hour and put a rock in front of the entrance to reduce it a bit more. They have about 2 1/2 - 3 frames of capped honey. I was planning on holding off on feeding for a couple days until the queen is released.
In answer to my own question, it appears pretty quick. I went out and started helping stragglers find the entrance. There wasn't much activity until I moved a rock in front of the entrance. As soon as I did, several bees came charging out, demanding to know what I was doing.
On a side note, the queen was tiny. I'm guessing a possible virgin queen.
Reducing the entrance is a good idea and queens fresh out of the little box are still tiny compared to what they should become.