Frame setup for package bees

This is a pic of an existing hive setup for package bees. The frames in this case,  are already drawn out comb, six mostly empty frames and three frames full of honey. I know the pic has only eight frames drawn on the box, put in nine. The ninth frame should be empty and go with the three empty frames in the middle of the hive. I would still feed one pail of syrup. The bees will put the sugar syrup where they want it, around their new brood. After that one pail of syrup, I would not feed. There is ample honey in the hive for a month. A pollen patty needs to be put on the top bars. Move the frames of honey indoors a few days before the bees come, so the honey frames are warm.
 Giving the bees cold frames of honey, may not be  good idea.

Another cold weather installation video.

This is another cold weather package bee install. I did not use sugar spray on the bees. Also, I used a marshmallow for releasing the queen.
 First I remove four or five frames out of the hive. The bees are then dumped into the hive from a plastic bee cage (which is the style of cage that is coming with the bees).  The bees are spread out across the bottom board with a hive tool. Then I take the queen, remove the cork and stick a mini marshmallow in the cork hole. I hold the queen cage down into the mass of bees to get several bees on her cage. The cage is then put under a rubber band that has been put around the frame. The queen cage is slipped under the rubber band, screen down. The rest of the frames are put back into the hive. This works on a five frame nuc box or a 10 frame box. In all cases the bees are put into a single box. I think the video explains the process. You may lose a few bees in the process but that will not impact the end result.
Feed syrup with a feeder pail. Do not use an entrance feeder or a hive top feeder.

Cold weather bee installation

I made this video a couple years ago but never published it. I felt it was appropriate for the cold weather that we will be having with the bees coming in a week. It looks like the weather will be in the 30's when the bees arrive.
 I used a 5 frame nuc box, but a 10 frame box can be used. The bees can keep a five frame nuc box warmer easier. With a 10 frame box it is important for the sun not to warm the side of the hive. When the sun warms the side of the hive, the bees may move to that warm side. This may cause them to be off the feeder pail and starvation can occur. This is one reason that bees are put in after 6 pm when the sun is not shining on the side of the hive. 
 Beekeepers need to install their bees with no sugar spray. Getting the bees wet with sugar water may harm them. The bees may be chilled and will not get off the bottom board.
 It would be great to start the colony with one frame of drawn comb with sugar water sprayed into the cells. If you are feeding bees frames of honey, from a dead hive. Bring the honey frames inside your house several days before the bees are to be installed so the honey can warm up. It can take a couple days for the dense honey frames to warm up. Do not use cold honey frames in your hive. The dense honey will radiate cold for a couple days after the bees are put in the hive and may chill the bees and harm them.
 I had a wooden cage at the time of this video. All the package bees now are plastic.
Double click on video for full screen

Bee Delivery Update

The bee delivery dates that I posted
April 7th - 8th - 2 lb packages and
April 14th and 15th - 3 lb packages
I did talk to our bee supplier this afternoon to firm up the delivery dates. He told me everything looks good as scheduled.
Please check this blog daily starting next week in case there is a change in the delivery dates due to weather.

Online shopping at Nature's Nectar Online

https://naturesnectaronline.com/
Nature's Nectar online is now up and running. It is being run by Tom and Jessie Minser out of North Branch, MN. We are supplying them with equipment and are testing the waters on how well this online store will work out with our customers. Not everything we sell is on the website but more will be coming if it looks like this is what our customers want. Check it out.

Are you ready for bees?

Our first delivery of bees is less than two weeks away.
Remember, on the days we are passing out bees, our store will be closed.
We will only be selling pollen patties, ProSweet Syrup and feeder pails.
Brush up on your bee installation process:

• Best to install bee after 6 pm.
• Grass in the entrance. We want to hold the bees in the hive overnight. Also if the bees are installed early in the day and they can get out because there is no grass holding them in, they can abscond and they will not be coming back. That is why we put them in at 6 pm when it is getting on towards night or anytime, if it is going to be raining all day. Bees don't fly at night or in the rain.
• If you are feeding frames of honey. Bring the honey indoors to warm up for a few days. Put the honey in the bee boxes right when you will be putting in the bees.  Otherwise the frames of honey, left outside, will be radiating cold for several days. This may hurt the bees if it stays on the cold side.
• If it is less than 50 degrees, you may not want to spray the bees with syrup. When it is cold, if the bees get chilled from the sugar water spray, they may not get off the bottom board and may not survive.
• This goes for queen also. Get a big rubber band that goes around a frame. The queen cage can use a marshmallow release instead of spraying the queen on a cold day. Put the queen cage under the rubber band near the top of the frame in the center of the hive. Dip the cage into the mass of bees on the bottom board after dumping the bees in the hive. Get about 6 to 8 bees on the cage, then slip the cage under the rubber band. The bees will keep the queen warm will they are waiting for the rest of the bees to climb up the frame.
• Do not use an entrance feeder. If it is cold, the bees cluster at the top of the hive. If it is cold, the bees will not break cluster and they will not be able to reach the syrup at the hives entrance feeder and may starve. A pail feeder is the best choice because the bees will cluster underneath the pail.
• If you have all empty drawn comb to start your colony. Spray some warm syrup into the cells of the center frame under the feeder pail. When the bees crawl up on the frame, they will have syrup to eat and can then produce heat easier. 
• I will be posting a few videos over the next week that demonstrates these methods.

Honeybees at the Joshua Tree National Park

Jason found these wild honeybees in a downed tree at Joshua Tree National Park.
Desert country in California.