Missing--a queen and her 10,000 workers

Yes, the bees from the package decided they did not like the neighborhood and moved away.  I checked the bushes and trees and they were nowhere to be found.  They left behind partially drawn comb on three bars.

I'm thinking that if I get another package, I'll put some already drawn comb in there so the queen has a place to start laying right away.  At least I still have bees on the other side of the hive.  I'm going to move the comb over to that side to give them a boost.

The first colony took the hint

I checked the swarm side of the hive and they have started building comb on the bar between the two Langstroth frames that I cut down.  Way to go!  Now we'll have to see which side builds it out faster.  Truthfully, the package side has the advantage since there are more bees on that side and they are not raising brood yet, so they can focus all their attention on building comb.

The package side has been going through 16 oz. of sugar syrup in a day, which is not surprising since they are trying to build out all that comb.  I'll just have to check it every day because my feeder only holds 16 oz.  The feeder is sitting inside the hive, so it can't be too big.  A quart mason jar would probably work, too.  That's something I will have to check on later.

These bees got curious when I lifted the top bar and got left outside when I put it back. Hopefully they remember where the front door is.

My bee package is making comb!

Today I took out the can of syrup that came with the package.  I picked up a cheap hummingbird feeder from the store after I found one where I could remove the feeding ports.  Now it is just an upside down jar with a sloped pool at the bottom.  I dissolved some granulated sugar in an equal amount of boiling water and then filled the feeder.  The can of syrup was still pretty heavy, but the syrup was coming out when I picked it up.  So, I know the holes weren't clogged or anything.

There were a lot of dead bees in the package when I installed it.  The bees haven't quite gotten around to giving their comrades the proper send off.  But, that is probably because they are busy building--wait for it--COMB!  I peaked under the bars near and on the edge of the cluster and didn't see anything, except for a lot of bees.  Then, I finally picked up the bar right over the middle of the cluster and I saw the beautiful yellow comb peaking through between the bees.  It was at least an inch or two long, but that's all the farther I lifted the bar.  I didn't want to disturb their work when I knew they were concentrating.

Now, I just need to keep them fed and let them do their thing.  Hopefully, the bees on the swarm side get in the spirit of competition and decide that they really need to start building too.  They may have already built some.  I'll check this weekend when it isn't so rainy.

Find yourself a rock or a couple bricks

Not much to report today, except make sure you find a heavy rock to put on your beehive cover.  I remembered mine last night right before the thunderstorm hit.  I ran outside and put the rock on top and a few minutes later the thunderstorm with 60+ mph winds hit.  The top for my hive is pretty heavy, but if the wind happened to catch the lid, it would have at least shifted.

The bees are doing okay, and it looks like the bees are trying to fill in the space that I left them in the brood nest.  I put the feeder with sugar water in the swarm side to give them extra food to start building their comb.  I'm not going to disturb that side again for a couple days.

The package side is still in their cluster.  It's pretty cool how they are all hanging together from each other.  It's unbelievable if you try to imagine humans trying to do that.

Cut frames and the queen is free!

Since the swarm colony didn't seem to be thriving and wasn't expanding, I took Anna's advice and cut down the Langstroth frames so that they would sit along the top bars.  Borrowing her queen catcher, I secured the queen before starting.  The queen is at the bottom of the catcher with the pink dot.

When I took the first frame out of the hive, I noticed a new bee emerging as I was removing it.  May not be as cute as a puppy, but you have to admit it looks pretty cute up close.

I just cut off the corners so that the frames could fit into the hive.

After I cut down the frames, I put them back into the hive.  I also spaced the last two frames.  You can tell the frames that I cut down; I put the top bars upside down on top.  With the blank top bars between the other frames, the bees should draw out straight comb.

Side view shot of the cut frames through the window.

I also went into the package side of the hive.  I was about to release the queen, but she was already out.  The can from the package is still in there, so I'll have to check it again in a couple days.  Let's hope they start building comb.  With them hanging from the top bars like that, their wax-producing glands should be stimulated so they can get started.

Bees, bees, and more bees

Great news.  The package that I ordered finally came in.  Originally, it was scheduled to be delivered on April 13.  Because of the unusually cool and wet spring, the supplier's source of bees (in Georgia, USA) was unable to put packages together until now.

I picked up the package yesterday, and with some help from Anna of the Carroll County Beekeepers Association, it was installed in my hive.  I hadn't planned on two colonies at this point, so I installed the package on the other side of the divider board from the swarm that I installed earlier.  Thankfully, Anna noticed that there was too large of a gap between the follower board and the hive body and was able to doctor it until the gap was closed (good use of popsicle sticks).

We also checked on the swarm to see how it was doing.  I received the swarm with four Langstroth frames laid lengthwise in the hive.  They haven't been building comb, and I was afraid that I had killed the queen on accident, but Anna found the queen and was able to see eggs and larvae in the comb.  Anna suggested that I just cut the frames to fit into the hive, so I will probably do that tomorrow night.  Hopefully at that point, they will get the hint and start building out comb on the top bars.

The bees on the package side may be building comb already, but I wouldn't be able to tell.  They are all in one big cluster around the queen cage.  I'm going to go into that side of the hive in a couple days to let the queen out, so I'll be able to tell then if they are building comb.  They better be, or the colony will be in trouble.  Here are a couple pictures of the cluster around the queen.

Still doing okay--I think.

I opened up the hive yesterday to see what is going on.  They still haven't started building comb, which is concerning me.  Also, about two-thirds of the capped brood has emerged as well.  I didn't see any eggs laid, but that may be just me (newbie with bad eyesight).  The bees seemed really calm when I went into the hive, and although I didn't see the queen, I'm hoping she is still in there somewhere.  The weather keeps going back and forth between hot and sunny to cold and rainy.  If I were the bees, I'd be a little confused too on what I should be doing this time of year.

Here are some pictures of the hive when I opened it.

I left the bees to themselves for a couple days so they could settle into their new home.  They are doing well and seem to be growing in numbers, thankfully.  I've been dreading looking into the hive, because I was afraid that I didn't leave enough space between the frames when I set them in the hive.  I wanted to give the bees a little more beespace so I set a couple sticks between each of the frames so they are not leaning against each other.  Hopefully, that will make them happier.

They still haven't started building any more comb, but I'm hoping that eventually they will fill up the frames and they will figure out that they need to start building again.  A couple of the frames were not entirely drawn out yet, so I suppose that they will finish those first.

The bees are still pretty calm, so I'm guessing the queen is still doing well.  It was interesting because to move the frames and insert the sticks I had to pull a lot of top bars off.  As I pulled more top bars off, you could hear the buzz of the hive increase while they started becoming more tense.  Then they got more calm as I put more bars back on.  Let's hope they start building by the next time I check.

Well the bees are still there.

I checked yesterday and the bees are still in the hive and didn't abscond.  My greatest fear is that I may have squashed the queen when I was laying the frames in the hive.  I didn't see her afterwards but I'm hoping she was hiding in a corner.  No new comb yet either.  I'm going to have to learn some patience and let the bees do their thing.

I have bees!

Thanks to Larry with the Carroll County Beekeepers Association, I am now a beekeeper--or at least a beehaver.  We'll see how things work out.  Larry had the bees in a Langstroth hive and was kind enough to give me some broodcomb and some nectar along with the queen and a good amount of attendants.  I'm hoping that the frames he gave me will work with my hive.

I brought the frames home, prepped my feeder with sugar syrup, rounded up some smoker fuel, and got my tools.  My son who has always protested that he hates bees decided to help me document installing the bees in my hive.

My biggest issue with the installation was trying to light my smoker.  I wasn't expecting to get bees today, so I didn't collect my smoker fuel ahead of time.  My neighbor has pine trees adjacent to our property that provide plenty of pine needles for fuel.  Unfortunately, post-tropical cyclone Andrea went through here last night and the needles were pretty damp.  I had to throw a little paper into the smoker to get the fire going well enough to start the pine needles and keep them smoking.  I grabbed a lot of extra needles so that they can dry out before I need them again.

I removed seven or eight top bars towards the front of the hive and stood up the Langstroth frames lengthwise inside the hive.  With the frames leaning against each other, I tried to leave some beespace between the frames.  I tried to put the frames in there gently, but I'm sure I smashed a few.  I didn't see the queen, so I'm hoping she was just hiding for now.

After all the bees were in, I set up the feeder inside the hive, added the follower board and replaced the rest of the top bars.  I let the bees settle for a little while and then I took a picture through the observation window.

One frame is leaning against the window.  The other frames are leaning against the other side of the hive.  You can see a lot of the bees in the corner.  The nurse bees are still on the broodcomb.  You may also notice the cleats on the bottom of the top bars.  Hopefully, the bees take the hint and build their comb from the cleats.

My son has the rest of the pictures on his phone.  Hopefully, I'll get those up this weekend.