Feeding packages and queen questions

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 03:09:48 PM

New beek. I installed two packages on Tuesday. They don't seem to be taking much syrup now. At all. I didn't see any bees at all at the syrup in our lang. Should I take it away? [Southern Indiana - other beeks say the nectar flow is fabulous this year]

I suspected robbing from the horizontal hive, so I closed up the bottom entrance last night, next to the feeder. [bottom board feeder, can't remember the right name of it] I put it in the corner of the bottom board and the bees outside can't get to it now because we blocked the bottom entrance on the other side of it.

There is a cluster of bees from the installation still hanging out below the SBB and has been since the install. I can see a lot of coming and going from under the SBB. I watched for some time and nothing went in or out the top entrance [the top entrance is like a TBH - they just have to come all the way up and out from under the telescoping cover. Is it possible that the underneath bees are feeding the hive through the screen? Should I open the bottom entrance again with a reducer to let my bees out? Have they just not figured out how to get to the top entrance? Am I worrying too much?

Also, what about the bees that are hanging out around the feeder There are several bees there all the time on the feeder and trying to get in the front entrance - are they trying to rob?

Is there a class in reading bee minds? Really, it would be so much easier if I could just ask them. Maybe I should just go up there and say, 'Dudes. What up?'

Another question:
We put the queens on the bottom of the hives with the candy free. Both hives are still in clusters around the queen. [We can see from underneath the SBBs] At what point should I think about setting her free? I know some good beeks suggest that we set her free to begin with. Beginner beek fear. I was scared she'd take off with the bunch overnight.

And another question:
I want to open the hives today and look at stuff. Should I just look or should I do something? And then how often is too often to look at stuff? Every day? Every other day? [Do not make me wait more than 3 days to check on them...]

indypartridge · April 06, 2012, 03:50:07 PM

Quote from: Rurification on April 06, 2012, 03:09:48 PM
New beek. I installed two packages on Tuesday. They don't seem to be taking much syrup now. At all. I didn't see any bees at all at the syrup in our lang. Should I take it away?

Boardman entrance feeder? Are the holes big enough? No crystalized sugar clogging it up? If it's A-OK, then I'd probably remove it. I installed packages on Tuesday as well. Gave the leftover syrup to one of them (others had frames of honey from my other hives) and they've finished it off. Generally, bees won't take syrup if there's plenty of nectar available, but a package usually won't leave it untouched, as they have a lot of work to do...

QuoteThere is a cluster of bees from the installation still hanging out below the SBB and has been since the install.
We put the queens on the bottom of the hives with the candy free.

If I'm understanding you correctly, I'd guess that the bees were underneath to surround the queen. Usually it's recommended to install the queen cages by wedging or hanging them from the top bars - not at the bottom of the hive where they could get chilled.

QuoteAt what point should I think about setting her free?

The 2nd or 3rd day after installation. I checked mine yesterday afternoon, and the candy had been eaten & the queen released (although there were still plenty of bees around the queen cage).

QuoteAnd another question:
I want to open the hives today and look at stuff. Should I just look or should I do something? And then how often is too often to look at stuff?

I recommend that new beekeepers do thorough (frame-by-frame) inspections every week to 10 days the first year. The only way to learn is to get in the hive and see what they're doing. As time goes on, you'll be able to tell certain things at a glance, but it takes experience. I also have a stool by my hives, and go out very often just to sit and watch - you can learn a lot just by watching the comings & goings at the entrance.

Generally when I inspect, I take one of the frames from the side (where there are few bees) and pull it out, look it over, and set it aside. Then pull out the next frame, and inspect it, holding it over the hive. Then return it to the hive, and pull the next one, working my way thru. When done, I slide the frames back in place and replace the first frame that I had taken out.

What to look for: I look for eggs, larva, capped brood. I don't look specfically for the queen, but I want to see evidence that she's laying, and that she's laying in a nice pattern. I may pull open a few capped drone cells and check for mites. For new colonies, I want to see that they're drawing out comb. My experience with new colonies from packages is that I don't have mite issues the 1st year.

AllenF · April 06, 2012, 03:51:00 PM

If bees are not taking feed, then there is no need for it being there. With the bees below the screen, pick them off and throw them into the hive. As long as you have an entrance open they will learn to use it. If the queen is still caged, release her.

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 03:53:57 PM

Thank you guys! I do appreciate all your experience!

buzzbee · April 06, 2012, 05:15:56 PM

I did a quick feeding video the other day:
http://forum.beemaster.com/index.php/topic,36799.0.html
Hope to redo this weekend without the wind.If the syrup is too cold they will not utilize it well.

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 06:19:17 PM

Thanks buzzbee - I saw that vid and moved the feeder at the lang inside a super on top - just like you showed. It's working well for that hive. Also, I took warm [room temp] syrup out this morning and switched it out. Will do the same tomorrow.

The weird one is the horizontal hive. Maybe a third of the bees are underneath. The queen is out of the cage and I removed the cage today. Just can't figure out how to get those bees back in. It'll be in the mid 30s tonight. SHould I go out when they're cold this evening and put them inside by the handful?

BlueBee · April 06, 2012, 06:31:34 PM

Bees hanging under the screen is a pain. The problem with trying to scoop them up at night is the likelihood of the whole mass falling to the ground and getting caught up in the weeds and dying from the cluster being broken up. I would either leave them be until tomorrow or smoke them out if you still have enough daylight and warmth in Indiana for them to fly this evening.

Heavy smoke works well to get the bees off the screen and into the air. All the bees in the air will start looking for the entrance again. As some find it, they will start scenting it. That will draw the rest in. However you have to keep smoking and keep them in the air until they all go into the right entrance. Smoke probably works best, but a bee brush will also work. The main idea is to get the bees in the air and looking for the right entrance but only if the flying weather is good enough for them to find the entrance before nightfall.

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 06:59:12 PM

Thank you, Blue Bee. I'll leave them until tomorrow, then smoke them as you say. My husband will be around to help. I spent some time with the brush under there today and I smoked them too [seemed like a good thing to do..], but didn't know how aggressive I should be about getting them out. I gave up too soon!

In my lang, they've eaten the candy to the queen, and the cage is packed with bees, but I think she's still in there. the bees were all over it still and were very unhappy when I brushed them off to see what was going on in there. When I moved the cage to the top of the hive, they started marching to the top. Will check her tomorrow and take the cage out.

Tried to post a pic, but still can't figure out how. I'm assuming there's a post somewhere that'll give me a step by step...

BlueBee · April 06, 2012, 07:06:10 PM

Yeah, you can post photos using the Imageshack service and there are instructions on here someplace. I find it much simpler just to create a free photobucket account and upload photos to photobucket. Photobucket then provides you with a "tag" line that you can copy and paste into your forum message to display the photos. The "tag" for images is the left bracket IMG right bracket line. You'll see it if you use photobucket.

I haven't been to your website yet, but if it hosts photos you can simply use the IMG tag on both sides of the photo location address on your website to display the photo right in your messages.

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 07:35:01 PM

Quote from: BlueBee on April 06, 2012, 07:06:10 PM
I haven't been to your website yet, but if it hosts photos you can simply use the IMG tag on both sides of the photo location address on your website to display the photo right in your messages.

Thank you, Blue Bee. I know what you're talking about - I think I can do it through blogger. Just have to get used to it.

Rurification · April 06, 2012, 09:23:19 PM

Hey Blue Bee! We went back up to check on the hives just now and there were only a dozen [at most] bees left down underneath the horizontal hive. Yay! The smoking and brushing worked! Thank you for the independent verification of my gut instinct.

When I opened today, the cluster was low in the hive against the bottom. I took out the queen cage. Tonight it's moved up off the bottom. Hoping they'll start to draw comb tomorrow.

FRAMEshift · April 06, 2012, 09:48:04 PM

Foragers will pass nectar through the screen. This is handy when there is too much traffic at the entrance.

If your package comes with the queen inside, in contact with the other bees, you should release her when you do the install. If she has arrived separately, you could wait 3 days so they get used to her.

When I have bees hanging out under the screen and I want them in the box, I go out on a cool night and hold a bucket under the clump of bees. Then run a thin board along the screen and the bees will fall into the bucket. Then dump them in the hive box. I do this all the time. I see this most often after a spate of robbing. Bees are left outside the hive and they just sit there, sometimes for days. They don't forage... they just sit there. So I scrape them off and add them to the box so they will change allegiance.

JackM · April 07, 2012, 09:17:56 AM

Nice to see I am not the only noob with all sorts of insecurity questions. I think one of my queen cages fell to the bottom, and after installing I felt it was best to just let them bee for awhile. Off to post about my experience.