Bee Install today , any and all advice asked and appreciated.

[djgriggs]

Hey everyone , should I be concerned!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

came home walked out to set and watch the bees. I noticed a bee walking on the concrete.   I thought how odd. it does not seem to be able to fly.. I put my hand down the bee walks on..

The be is gray.. Powdery gray and it has a varroa mite on it.  .. Concerned,, Did both of my boxes come with bees and varroa or is it just this one hive ? How bad is it ? What is up with the Gray bee ? Please all thoughts . I am at a loss.

Thank you

DJ

[BeeMaster2]

Most hives have mites to some extent. I?m very surprised you saw one on a bee on your first day. I rarely ever see any on bees and I have an observation hive. Did you look at the wings for Deformed Wing Virus? There is a good chance that?s why she was on the ground.
Jim

[djgriggs]

No, to be honest the only reason I think i noticed is because the bee was ash grey. when I picked up the bee I noticed the mite. It was just by chance that I seen it. I did not think to look for any other issues. but I will keep that in mind next weekend when I check the hive.

[djgriggs]

Okay, I got home today and installed a pale feeder in my foundation-less hive. I am concerned because I cannot tell if it was leaking or not once it is in place. I do not think it is but then again when I first flipped the pales over it was slowly dripping. Any thoughts?

My original thought was to remove the partial / half of the pollen patty that I had put in place however the bees were still all over it so I just left it and went ahead and put down the full pale feeder. I am just hoping it does not leak , can anyone give me some advice on this.

Thank you

[cao]

When you first turn over the feeder, it will leak a little until it creates a vaccum.  It shouldn't take long for it to stop.  There may be some remaining drops hanging on when you put it on the hive.

[djgriggs]

>Do you think fondant is a good source ?

This time of year a light 1:1 syrup would be best way to feed.  It it closest to nectar which is what they need for raising brood.  Fondant, sugar bricks and thick syrup are best in the fall/winter for them to store.

Sense I only installed the Pale of syrup in the foundation-less hive I did 2:1 two bags of sugar to 1 gallon of water. I was informed that this would help stimulate wax production.
Is this correct ?

[BeeMaster2]

DJ,
I?m not sure if 2 to 1 will stimulate wax production, bees holding nectar/honey in their crop causes wax production. The problem is this is spring. You want to stimulate the queen to produce eggs. 2 to 1 does not stimulate egg production. If there in no flow, then I would feed them 1 to 1. If they have, in your case,  no place to store it then they will produce wax.
Jim

[djgriggs]

DJ,
I?m not sure if 2 to 1 will stimulate wax production, bees holding nectar/honey in their crop causes wax production. The problem is this is spring. You want to stimulate the queen to produce eggs. 2 to 1 does not stimulate egg production. If there in no flow, then I would feed them 1 to 1. If they have, in your case,  no place to store it then they will produce wax.
Jim

Good deal.. I will make the change to 1:1  "1 sugar to 1 gallon of water"

[djgriggs]

Okay, I went when I got home today to remove what was left of the half pollen patties. " I do not think I will ever use them again"

One reason is that it is like a melted peace of taffy.. When I removed the inner cover they were about 8 bees stuck upside down on the pollen patty and 3 were dead. .. .. Once this is gone I do not think I will touch the stuff again.

I had planned to do a full inspection of both hives but while changing the syrup on the foundation-less hive and trying to remove the pollen patty I took a moment to look through some frames... I was not able to find the queen but I did see what I thought was a queen cell that was open..

I am looking for someone in the area that can help me do an inspection this Sunday so that I can follow along and learn how to properly do the inspection , Oh yeah did I mentioned that I ended up killing some bees.. I felt so bad.. It was a terrible feeling to hear that crunch.. apparently I cannot properly put on a 2nd deep box without smashing bees @#$#%$$%#$^#$ ..

any possible help is always welcome.

[Dustymunky]

No reason to be alarmed if you find queen cups. This time of year they build them. Hold frame upside down with the sun to your back and look inside the cup. If there is an egg or larvae in the cup then u have an issue. Try not to stress too much dj. The bees usually know what theyre doing. Hopefully you find a local beekeeper to help you out.

PS-It sucks to smash bees but every beekeeper does it ;)

[BeeMaster2]

DJ,
When you put the super back on, turn it 30 degrees to the right or left, slowly lower it wiggling it as you make contact and slowly turn it to line up with the box below.
You can also puff a little smoke across the top frames to move the bees down into the hive and then add the super.
Jim

[moebees]

What Dustymunky and Sawdstmakr said.