Bees arriving Friday

I expect to have the bees sometime on Friday. They can be picked up on a first come first served basis. No pick up schedule on Friday. They are usually here in the morning. But nothing is for sure as of yet. Watch this blog. I will update when they are ready to be picked up. Please don't show up with out knowing they are here. I need the whole area to unload.

Sat Pick Up Schedule

The following is the pick up schedule for Saturday, April 14th.
Please try to stay with the schedule. There are many beekeepers picking up that day. If everyone sticks with the schedule the pick ups should move quickly with minimal waiting.
There is no hurry to get them in. The best time to install package bees is after 6 pm.
We will go with the first letter of your last name:
A - B.............. 8 am - 9 am
C - D - E ........ 9 am - 10 am
F - G - H ....... 10 am - 11 am
I - J - K - L ... 11 am - 12 pm
12 - 1:00......... crew lunch
M .................. 1 pm - 2 pm
N - Q ............. 2 pm - 3 pm
R - S .............. 3 pm - 4 pm
T - Z .............. 4 pm - 5 pm
stragglers ..... 5 pm - 6 pm

Things for sale on bee pick up day

On bee day I will have 5 gallon pails of ProSweet Syrup, pre made pollen patties, feeder pails, and fumigillan for sale.

Installing Package Bees

This is a video I made last year. I have been doing it this way for many years and the method has worked for me. The one thing to always remember, the marshmallow release is only done with package bees. Requeening an established colony with a new queen must be done with a hard candy plug.

Closed for bee supplies Sat April 14 and Sat April 21st

Nature's Nectar LLC will be closed April 14th and 21st for the selling of bee supplies due to package bee arrivals.

Bee Deliveries

I talked to Ray my bee supplier this morning. Due to better than expected queen mating. The two deliveries are back on the original schedule.
First delivery is April 14th
Second delivery April 21st
This can always change, so please pay close attention to this blog for updates.

Strong Colonies/Mites

Many overwintered colonies are very strong. Queens are laying eggs full tilt. The early warm weather has put the bees about three weeks ahead of schedule. Pollen is coming in, but pollen patties are still being consumed.
Most hives are ready for reversals if they haven't been done already. Top box to bottom, bottom to top. This will give the queen more room to lay and spread the brood and bees throughout the hive. It will also make the bees put pollen and any nectar coming in everywhere in the hive instead of in a concentrated area.
Two deep colonies may be packed with bees and may be starting to think about swarming. Queens are very hard to get this time of year, so divides will maybe have to wait. Adding a third deep will buy some time with the added room. If the third box is foundation, it will be necessary to feed sugar water or ProSweet to get the bees to draw out wax cells. Remember, no feed means no wax.
Being the bees started this build up early this year, any colonies not treated for mites last year should have their mite load checked.
http://beelab.umn.edu/Resources/Free-bees/index.htm This is a link to the Univ of MN free bees. They demonstrate how to check the colony mite load.
If there is a high mite load, treating with Hopguard or Mite Away Quick strips is probably the most natural treatments right now. They are both food additives and work well controlling Varroa mites. Api-Guard should not be used as that is a fall only treatment.
Soon the dandelions will start coming out. The benefit of strong colonies will be dandelion honey collection. At the first sign of dandelions two supers should be added to a strong colony. Many overwintered colonies are still heavy with honey from last year, the bees will need a place to pack away the new incoming nectar.