The ladies have arrived!

TimLa · April 18, 2008, 04:47:41 PM

4# + queen. Hive ready to go. Bees are in their box, in the guest bathroom, and I'm waiting for the syrup to cool before giving them a spray.

Note to self: It was 36 degrees out, by the time I walked the bees to the truck, they were... clustering? and relatively quiet. My dog was fascinated, but stayed in the back seat. Had the heat on set to 68, and by the time I got home (30 minutes), they were all quite awake, thankyouverymuch! I think they liked having warm air blowing on them. I noticed many, many bee tongues poking thru the mesh when I put them in the bathroom!

They are now resting in the dark, warm (65) bathroom. I better make sure there's plenty of TP, they've been on the road since Monday ;)). I think due to the weather forecast (lows of 31 tonight, then slowly warming over the next week), I'll spray them with syrup every couple of hours, and install them tomorrow afternoon.

TimLa · April 18, 2008, 05:43:30 PM

Update: The syrup spray seems to have calmed them down quite a bit, I think they're hungry.... :shock:

pdmattox · April 18, 2008, 07:14:39 PM

Ah a new father. Enjoy them they, grow up way to fast. :-D Congrats on the new bees.

poka-bee · April 18, 2008, 07:49:40 PM

Hi
Isn't it a rush? You will be checking on em all night! They are very hungry from shipping, amazing how quiet they get when given the sugar spray. What a slumber party you will have with thousands of girls in your bathroom!! I'm a new beekeeper from Buckley, you must be near NBend, Snoqualamie?? Isn't this some wild weather though, snow, hail balls, sunny, windy, rain all within an hour. I think we got up to the med 40's today-woo hoo. 8-) Hope it is better tomorrow for you! Where did you get your bees? Sean Kelly lives right down the road from me. My girls didn't come out all day today, well they mighta snuck when I wasn't looking! Have fun & keep us posted on your progress! I'm itching to see if mine did anything yet..much like the Mervins commercial...open, open, open!!! Next week when it's nice will see if there are eggs & take off the queen includer. welcome! Jody

TimLa · April 18, 2008, 11:26:40 PM

I'm 5 miles NE of Duvall, up in the foothills. We have 2 inches of snow so far today... :'( I can't believe this goofy weather! Regardless, I'l install them tomorrow. I have a 5 foot heat tape, might staple it down on the bottom board. And lots-o-syrup, a feeder and a gallon ziplock on top of the frames. Looking forward to nicer weather for them...

Charming wife was fascinated with the bees when she got home, the mother instinct kicked in, she checks and feeds them every couple of hours now! They've had a cup in the last four hours, really sucking it down. This should keep them in fine shape until tomorrow.

BTW: Frames are really easy to build with a nail gun/brad gun. :-D

TimLa · April 18, 2008, 11:54:37 PM

Catching up:

Bees came from Bees Nees in Snoqualmie - closest supplier I could find at the time. He brings them in from northern california or southern oregon, I forget which. A google search will bring them up.

Been snowing like crazy up here, four inches on the deck now. Woodstove running. Bees happy, but itching to get into the hive I'm sure....

-T

Brian D. Bray · April 20, 2008, 10:12:18 AM

Ain't the snow in April a drag? Everytime my bees start to crank it up and really get going the temps drop back to the low 30s and it snows. They go back to cluster and I end up with dead bees from the cold snap becuase they were out and didn't cluste tight enough and brood in the frames gets left uncovered due to the clustering. Last year it was a 2nd year drought with little nectar in the flowers and this year it's snow during fruit blossoms.

TimLa · April 20, 2008, 01:12:53 PM

Well, they've been in the shipping container about as long as I feel they can tolerate. Been spraying sugar water at the rate of about a pint a day. No visible increase in dead bees at the bottom, but I think I'm pushing it if I leave them another day, so they're going in this afternoon with plenty of feeders. Working backwards, I think they've been in that box since Monday.

Very odd weather. Fog and snow now, got another inch over night. What's REALLY odd is that it was over 80 degrees here a week ago.

Still pondering over the "Y" cell orientation thing, guess I'll have to find my wife's glasses, cuz I don't see it!

-T

beemaster · April 20, 2008, 01:35:11 PM

I hope you have looked at my Bee Package Install Video on Youtube, I think it will be a lot less stressful on a package being laid-up llonger than ideal. Shame on the cool weather, keep a close eye on the dead be count, get them out of the shipping box really helps infections and other health issues that effect the living.

If you get more than a layer or two (TOPS) of dead bees, then you can tilt the box and tap the bottom of the cage, they will fall to the lowest corner. Cutting through the screenand (just make a "L" flap large enough to get a teaspoon in and pull out the dead bodies, push the screen back and a piece of duct-tape will do to keep the rest inside (since the prefer clusting) the really stay away from the corner you use to remove excess dead.

Here is the video - nearly 24,000 views of my install video is pretty cool (yet another 15 minutes of fame for the Beemaster - :roll: ) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5a4a-Tw-qFI and I have about a dozen more videos, some vaction but several bee related too :) Keep us informed, I think this method, which only requires pliers is soooo much easier on a package, especially if they are box bound several days. Let me know what you tink. OH... do this prep work in the shade, keep the clustered for easiest results.

buzzbee · April 20, 2008, 01:35:53 PM

Here you can see the Y at the bottom of the cell. It's upside down

buzzbee · April 20, 2008, 01:38:57 PM

The wyes at the bottom you see are actually the cells located on the other side.

JP · April 20, 2008, 01:54:33 PM

Very cool pics Ken!!!

...JP

TimLa · April 20, 2008, 02:41:34 PM

Oh yes, I watched the video more than once! Looks like a lot less stress on the bees., and that method is my plan of record for today....

It's still snowing. Hopefully we'll get some sun this afternoon.

Thanks for pointing out the "Y" with a picture - makes perfect sense now.

-T

buzzbee · April 20, 2008, 02:50:37 PM

heres a photo from the other side,the wye is up!

The tiny drops are from rain that started as I was taking the photo,so I had to move inside.

TimLa · April 20, 2008, 10:58:56 PM

Update:
All is well, few casualties. I was amazed at how fast they dissappeared into the hive.
Did a direct release of the queen, will pull the cage out tomorrow. They've settled down, sent out a few foragers but I expect the cool temps are making them just cluster in the hive. They're relatively quiet now, no traffic on the entrance, just garbage that landed in there with them when I released them.