Hiving bees in the rain

[doodlemaier]

The girls arrived in the mail this morning. The non-stop rain started yesterday morning and it looks like it's going to be like this for the rest of the week. Do I just muddle through the hiving process and keep 'em as dry as possible

Comments

[squid_ink]

I worked in my hive today and it's drizzling (I didn't open up the hive, I just took the top off and put on a shallow)

I'd wait for a break in the a rain, install the package and hang the queen. Leave them be for a couple of days

the next day is kind of soon for the queen to be released, you can wait two or three (that's what I did, anyway!)

dont forget to feed some sugar water whe you install the package

good luck! bees are fun!

[doodlemaier]

Maybe I should hold off to transfer them until tomorrow afternoon? I'm in a weird situation (compounded by unfortunate weather for this sort of thing). My wife and I own a house in the Shenandoah Valley where I have my hive and I work an hour and some away near DC where I stay on the weekdays, but I've shirked a couple days from work to do the thang. If I can dodge enough raindrops to get them in the hive tomorrow afternoon (with the hive-top feeder of syrup, thanks for the reminder!) will they be good until I return Friday evening to take out the box and close it all up? I feel like even if they're okay during that interval, if something goes awry I've got less time to fix things if I need to order another queen, or something.

You're subject to much of the same weather we get here, IIRC.

BTW, Happy Shirk-a-Day!

[squid_ink]

hold off until tomorrow, just spray them with sugar water tonight.

one more day isn't a big deal :)

[doodlemaier]

When you add a shallow (I assume for honey collection) do you use a queen excluder? The guy who's hives I visited a couple weeks ago says he never uses one and I wonder how he keeps the queen from laying eggs in his shallows.

[cvirtue]

Make sure they have syrup. When I installed my package, the syrup can was very nearly empty.

[doodlemaier]

damn. . . .I have no way of knowing how much is left in that can. They shipped on the 1st of May. I spray 'em liberally with sugar water while they're still in the crate, but now I really want to get them into their new home!

[helen99]

Yes, when we received our package last week, the syrup can was dry. The bees were thirsty, hungry, and angry. We fed them some sugar water and they calmed down.

[heinleinfan]

My husband and I waited 4 days after installing our bees to check it, and that check was only for a quick peek to make sure the queen was out of her cage, she was so we removed the cage, stuck in the last frame, and closed it up. Then, a week after that quick check is when we did an actual inspection to see if she was still alive and laying eggs

[doodlemaier]

You're two years ahead of me that's commendable experience. Congrats on getting them through the winter, especially up there! That's encouraging. My bees shipped from KY on Friday so they've been in the crate for four days, now. Tomorrow will be the 5th and I have to install them no later than tomorrow, regardless. Every time the rain let's up I gather together everything I need only to have it start right back up again.

I think I'm going to wait until tomorrow afternoon then remove half of the frames, take the lid off the crate of bees and place the whole crate down inside the hive and then hang the queen cage, put the hive-top on, close it all up and come back on Saturday. That way I'm limiting the exposure as much as possible, even though the forecast promises rain straight through to Sunday. Jane, who took my order for the bees at Kelley's did mention a candy plug behind the cork for the queen cage. Again, congratulations and thanks for your encouragement!

[idav5d]

Hang the queen cage between a couple of frames (Make sure the cork is removed from the candy side),put the package (opened) and the can of syrup on top of the frames and cover with a spare hive body and top. Check the queen in 5-7 days. You can also mix up some 1:1 sugar syrup in a quart jar, poke some pinholes in the lid, and turn that upside down on the frames instead of the syrup can...

[doodlemaier]

Minimal exposure to the elements and less to screw with later? I like this idea and I'm running with it. . .

Tomorrow, Ladies!

[spiralsongkat]

It sounds like you live fairly near us! I hear that the weather tomorrow is supposed to be cool and cloudy. Thursday is supposed to be warmer, if you can manage to dodge the predicted thunderstorms.

We're in our first season of beekeeping ourselves, and as we found out this past weekend, a cool and cloudy day is not the best day for opening up a hive; we tried an inspection, and our girls were cranky!

When you hang the queen cage, you should make sure the screen sides of the cage are accessible to the bees. That way, the queen's pheromones will spread throughout the hive, and the colony can feed her.

You can get away with keeping the bees in their box a few days longer if you put a jar feeder on the box, screen side up -- and, as others have advised, keep the box in a cool, dark place. Sunday is likely to be the best weather of this week.

Good luck, whatever you decide, and enjoy your girls!

[doodlemaier]

As per idav5d's suggestion I hung the queen cage in the the primary deep in the void left by a single frame, put a spare deep over the top of that, opened the shipping crate with the syrup can removed and lowered that and a couple quart jars of syrup with pin holes poked in the lids. They seem to like the arrangement well enough so far but, obviously, I won't know until Saturday if they really like their new digs.

We're in Front Royal, Va. I don't know how far that is from you but we're very near the W.Va border. Always appreciative of local folks with similar interests!

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