|
Certainly the commonest way to start a colony, or start beekeeping is to install a package of bees into an empty home-to-be.And there are nearly as many ways to get bees from shipping cage to functioning unit as there are people installing them. But basic biology dictates certain principles be obeyed, no matter what. A box with some or all drawn comb is better than all foundation - it gives the bees some place to be, and store food immediately, and reduces the amount of gathered food required for wax production, freeing it for brood food. Bees can be ‘moved in’ by dumping them inside the box (with 3 frames removed, then replaced, to accommodate the mass); they can be dumped directly in front, to march right in; or a combination of the two, where some are placed inside, the remainder outside. Some remove several frames, open the top of the package and lay it on its side, inside. The package is removed in a day or so. Once installed several precautions are recommended. The first rule is -feed, feed, feed. Then feed more, until they don’t take any more. Feeding well into the summer may be required if adequate forage isn’t available. Treating for nosema should be considered since a new package is under stress, and the presence of tracheal and Varroa mites is a possibility that must be reckoned with, too. Checking for queen acceptance, and then queen production is a must, but there is a fine line between too-often, and too-seldom observations. Edge toward the too-often, but just barely. Once established, remove feeders, add supers and prepare for the honey flow - and harvest. |
