Package Bees Starting with Bees Feeding Package Bees Syrup Nucleus (nucs) Colonies Buying Established Colonies Collecting Swarms Taking Bees out of Walls and Buildings Selecting the Bee Type Apiary Location Beekeeping in Urban/Suburban Settings Handling Bees
Package Bees Should be ordered in Jan. or Feb. or earlier (delivery usually April) Available in 2, 3, and 5 lb packages, most popular are the 2 and 3 lb packages There are about 3,500 bees to a pound In each package there is a newly mated Queen with her 3-5 attendants in a cage and a can of sugar syrup If installing on to drawn comb with honey and pollen you can install in early April If installing onto foundation only you need to wait until the end of April or May If the bees are coming via the USPS call and tell them, don t let them delivery the bees Feed the bees as soon as you get them home via spraying or sprinkling
Starting the Installation Remove about five or six frames from the middle Insert an entrance reducer to provide a small entrance Remove the piece of wood covering the top feeder and remove the feeder can and the Queen cage, make sure the queen is alive, then REMOVE the cork from the candy end Make a small hole in the candy be careful not to hurt the Queen Like to get the queen out of the cage in 24 to 48 hours Couple of ways to transfer the bees from the mailer to the Hive First placing the Queen Cage between two frames Put the Queen Cage so the candy is up and the screens are facing outward Now put the Package bees into the open space Put the Covers on the hive In about 4-5 days Go into the hive and remove both Cages -Reinstall Removed Frames
Starting the Installation con t Another Method, First, spray sugar syrup on to the bees to wet their wings Knock the bees to the bottom of the shipping cage As you remove the syrup cage spray some more syrup NOT TO MUCH Remove the Queen cage, lay the wood top back onto the shipping cage Place the Queen cage between two frames, secure the cage Gently shake the bees out of the package into the open space to get most of the bees out you might have to tap the side a little harder Very gently reinstall the frames removed Replace the inner and outer covers Leave the open shipping cage close to the hive entrance
Feeding Package Bees Unless you install your package bees on drawn comb containing honey and pollen, plan on feeding the bees for quit a while There are several ways to feed your bees Make a feeder out of a large plastic jar by punching holes in the top cover. Fill the jar with sugar syrup 50/50 water to sugar Turn it upside down over the hole in the inner cover, place a deep hive body over the hive then install the top cover Use a purchased top feeder or make one yourself Use a Boardman feeder (not very good idea) After 7-9 days examine the hive briefly to see if the Queen has been accepted and she is laying eggs, there is larvae, smoke sparingly If you find the colony without a Queen (no eggs or larvae) you need to get a new queen immediately or combine the colony with a weak one
Nucleus Colonies (Nuc) Purchasing a Nuc from a reputable supplier is the fastest way to get a functional hive The nuc usually has five established frames of Brood, honey, pollen and a good laying Queen After placing the five frames into the 10 frame brood box the hive will grow rapidly Major advantage of the Nuc is that you have an established hive and you will possibly have honey the first year as opposed to the package bees which have to build-up from scratch The major draw-back is the cost of a nuc over a 3 lb. package but on the positive side you will have the possibility of honey the first year
Buying Established Colonies This publication doesn t recommend buying established colonies for beginners Objections: Determining the true value of the colony Potential of acquiring diseased bees Questionable equipment These objections can be overcome by having an experienced beekeeper evaluate the colony first Advantage: Getting established colonies, sometimes at very reasonable prices Getting other beekeeping equipment at the same time
Collecting Swarms Collecting honey bee swarms can be an excellent way to replace winter losses and strengthen weak colonies or start new ones Swarms can contain up to 25,000 bees (a 3 lb package contains about 10,000) Things to consider before trying to collect the bees 1. How long has the swarm been there 2. Where the swarm is located 3. The size of the swarm (after swarm) 4. Do you have the equipment to retrieve the swarm Swarms normally cluster on a tree limb, a post, side of a building or if your lucky, in an old hive If close to the ground and you can cut or shake a branch of bees into hive body, a cardboard box or any container that has a cover works fine If the swarm is high on a tree branch you might be able to use a bucket attached to a long pole and shake the swarm into the bucket (see brochures Brushy Mountain) Then transfer the bees into a brood hive box Try to move the cluster gently as the cluster can fall apart easily as you move it If during this operation part of the cluster falls to the ground, just put the hive near the cluster
Collecting Swarms con t After collecting the swarm introduce the bees to a brood box in the same manner that you use with package bees If you are going to strengthen a weak colony use the paper introduction to join the hives Either use a newspaper page or the paper from between new foundation over an existing hive Put the hive box over the paper and put the top on (no Queen) Collecting Swarms in traps can be accomplished by using purchased traps (make your own, use Nucs) and putting pheromone lures inside to lure the scout bees Put the traps about 8-15 feet above the ground The entrance hole should be small so only the bees can enter Check regularly during the swarm season (April-June) Bees from other hives have the tendency of going to the same spot
Taking Bees out Walls and Buildings This publication suggest a long procedure of using a kind of bee escape over a months time to get the bees out and not let them back into the wall, with a used hive next to the exit hole for the bees to return to Suggest until you have enough experience handling bees don t get involved Most of us won t remove bees from the walls of peoples homes If the home owner will open up the walls for you to remove the bees and comb and will replace the wall at his expense?? Your call
Selecting the Right Type of Bee Todays U.S. bees are a heterogeneous blend of several bee races coming from Europe, Middle East and Africa There are several races of bees, Italians, Cardovan, Carniolan, Russian, Caucasians, German and Africian Italian Carniolan German African Other hybrids are now available which were developed to fight varroa mites and other bee maladies Bees are not indigenous to this continent, but from the Middle East/Africa German bees were the first introduced by the early settlers Italian bees are the most popular bees in the U.S. introduced in1859
Selecting the Right Type of Bee con t Italian bees are light yellowish or brown with strips of brown or black, those with five bands are called Goldens or Cardovan Advantages of Italians: They start brood rearing early in spring and continue until late fall providing a large population They are more gentle then most other bees, therefore easier to work They are good housekeepers and are comparatively resistant to European Foul Brood Disadvantages: They require more honey to carry them during fall and winter They have weaker orientation causing drifting to other hives A strong inclination for robbing which can aid in the spread of disease
Selecting the Right Type of Bee con t Caucasian Bees: Sometimes described as the gentlest of all honey bees They are dark colored to black with grayish bands on the abdomen They conserve their honey better than Italian bees They also forage at lower temperatures than Italian bees Disadvantages: They tend to construct lots of burr comb and use large amounts of propolis to fasten combs They are also inclined to drifting and robbing but not excessive swarming Full strength not reached before mid summer
Selecting the Right Type of Bee con t Carniolans are dark bees similar to Caucasians with brown spots or bands on the abdomen Advantages: They over winter in small clusters but increase rapidly in the spring after the first pollen Very economical with food consumption Over winter very well Not inclined to robbing Have a good sense of orientation and are quite on the combs Disadvantages: Rapid increase in the spring after the first pollen causes excessive swarming
Apiary Location Locate your hives so they face south to southeast if possible In as much sun as possible Out from under the tree canopy and at least 18 off the ground There should be a good source of water near-by about 1/4 mile If not, provide a tank with either rocks or floating boards If possible locate the hives where there is a natural wind break such as trees, bushes, out buildings or build one The location should have good water drainage, avoid flood areas Leave enough room behind the hives for a tractor or truck, so you can work behind the bee hive entrances to add, supers, sugar syrup and remove supers that are full of honey
Beekeeping in Urban/Suburban Setting Maintain gentle bees in highly populated areas Keep no more than a couple of hives Keep water close-by the hive to prevent the bees from using your neighbors pool Face the hives away from people traffic Build a high barrier in front of the hive entrance to make the bees approach at a high altitude Swarming can be problematic when in close quarters, need to split early to try to prevent swarming
Handling Bees The smoker is one the most important pieces of beekeeper equipment It allows you to control the behavior of the bees Moderate amounts of cool smoke repels bees and camouflages the alarm pheromone LIGHTING THE SMOKER WILL BE COVERED LATER Exercise extreme care using your smoker. Sparks and Flames will damage the bees wings and body hairs To much smoke will also anger the bees Prior to opening your hive blow a couple of puffs of smoke into the hive entrance, then a couple of puffs under the top and inner covers, then wait a few of minutes As you remove the top cover and inner cover you may need to give the bees on the top bars a couple of more puffs of smoke, which will move the bees down into the hive On warmer days you may not have to use a lot of smoke If you are going into the hive in search of the Queen try using as little smoke as possible
Working Bees Beginners are natural reluctant to spend much time working with the bees After getting your protective clothing on and properly lighting the smoker approach the hive from the rear and work from the sides Blow a couple of puffs of smoke in the front entrance and under the cover to discourage the guard bees Every time you remove or replace hive pieces you may have to use more smoke to make the bees move You don t want to hurt or kill the bees especially the Queen You don t want to drop frames, bump them or just clumsy handling of the hive parts This will cause the guard bees and then the rest of the bees to believe they are under attack and it will start to get ugly Work the bees when most of the forage bees are away between about 10AM to 4PM Bees tend to be easier to work with during the nectar flow
Working Bees con t After removing the telescoping cover lay it upside down on the ground to the left or right Take the inner cover off and either brush the bees off or tap the inner cover on the ground in front of the hive then set it out of the way or use as temp cover Remove the propolis around the frames and remove the second frame Inspect it over the hive to make sure the Queen is not on the frame, if not, place the frame leaning against the side of the hive, if she is on the frame, carefully lean it against the hive, remove the third frame and reinsert the frame with the Queen DO NOT CRUSH HER While inspecting the combs for eggs, larvae, pupa you will need to use the sun to your advantage, over your shoulder After you remove the frames for inspection and start to replace them in the hive put them back in the same location/order as you removed them (line across) You will need to use smoke to chase the bees away from the areas you are working during the closure of the hive