There's always something to worry about when keeping bees,isn't there? They've been here for three days, but I worry that they grew up in warm, sunny Georgia and came here to heavy rain and cold weather. They are huddled together for warmth in both hives, probably too cold to get to the feeders. Should I close the bottom, which is screened, to keep them warmer but which might reduce circulation and cause dampness problems? I decided to close them this morning because it was 40 degrees but open them later. Should I put the storm window back in the back porch, replacing the screen?
Then there's the queens. Will they be accepted and get out of the container? Because of the observation window I could see the container in the back yard hive and the queen is out. But - the sugar plug is still there. How did she get out and leave it there? Doesn't seem like enough room. The bees did shift; they covered the container before, so they must be adjusting to her presence. I can't see the container on the porch hive. It's still covered by bees.
I worry about the design. Because I have the feeders at the opposite end of the hive from the entrance, the hive space is larger than it probably should be. Is this too much for them to keep warm? Can they still get to the feeders? There are a number of bars of old comb from the previous hive, but they still leave a lot of space.
The porch hive has a pile of dead bees on the floor. Why haven't they been removed - is it because it's too cold for them to get to work? And, are they the new bees or are the old bees that were still in the old comb and have been removed?
On the plus side, the design seems good. The observation windows are great. They are easy and non-invasive. The back yard queen is out. Lots of bees are alive, though huddled together. They found the feeders, particularly on the porch.
Back to waiting. At least three weeks before the first new bees, if the queens are successful. Looking occasionally (daily?) for signs of comb building, cleanup and foraging. Six weeks to see if the number of bees is growing and ready to live without feeding.
Good luck to those of you with new (or old bees).
Hey Mike - What do you mean by closing the bottom? How do you achieve this?
ReplyDeleteI have a "door" on the bottom of the hive. Take a look at the Feb 10 posting. It shows details of the current hive. The last pic shows the door. On the previous hive, I wanted to close off the screen for warmth, but it was very hard to attach. This time I built it in. The cover is hinged at the front of the hive, so it just hangs there when open. There's a simple hook latch to hold it shut when I do that. Bottom line - it can be built in to the hive.
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