Package Arrived!

[Apis629]

Yesterday my bee package arived a day early.  I think I may have made a huge mistake.   When I was installing them it began to rain as I was closing the cover to the hive.  Could this make them sufficiently annoyed to abscond or am I just blowing things way out of porpoution?  And another questinon...How fast does a three pound colony go through 1:1 sugar syrup?  I put in a twenty ounce jar and it's about 1/3 empty after two days.  Is it normal for bees to take syrup this slowly.  Oh, and my final begginer question is how soon is too soon to open a hive?  IT was installed Wednesday and I'm wondering if it can be opened anywhere from Sunday to Tuesday?

[Finsky]

Bees stand rain. Don't care.

Bees take syrup also depending how fast they draw upp combs. They also store syrup to combs. Weather, how they get pollen and many other things influence, what is normal. Wax making needs pollen.

I can tell about last summer.  10 pound swarm was in the chimney. It was there 7 days. It had got no combs there. Weather during that week was wetty. Bees carry honey but it was so light that they were not able to build.

[Lesli]

I wouldn't worry. Three pounds isn't a lot of bees. :) Just make sure that the syrup doesn't mold or ferment in hot weather.

[Miss Chick-a-BEE]

No time is really TOO soon, but there's not much point in checking before the first week. You won't see too much in that time. I'd just wait till Tuesday or so. That way you might get a better idea on how much wax and brood is going on.

They'll go through more syrup after they grow a little. Maybe give it to them for the first month, so they can build up some wax. But after that they'll have more bees being "born" or coming out of the cells. More of the bees from the package will become worker bees, and do all the worker stuff.

Beth