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Author Topic: packaged hived  (Read 3736 times)

Offline nosirrahkcaz

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packaged hived
« on: May 10, 2014, 02:22:26 pm »
I just got my new package hived, but had a quick question. This is my first time and everything I read said the bees would be very doclie at this point. I sprayed them with syrup and followed all the tutorials but I still got stung 3 times and would have been quite a few times more if I didn't jog away and come back a couple minutes later to finish. What did I do wrong or is this the real normal? Thanks for the help.

Offline AliciaH

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #1 on: May 10, 2014, 02:39:17 pm »
Packages tend to be more docile, but counting on them to be completely docile is a bit of a stretch.  Sounds like you did what you were taught.  Just remember, bees have good days, bad days, and iffy days for a lot of various reasons.  If they were having an iffy day, then three stings isn't bad. 

If you want to make sure you don't get stung, there's always the suit/gloves option....

How are they doing now?  Did they settle in okay?


Offline nosirrahkcaz

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #2 on: May 10, 2014, 03:02:49 pm »
Its been a few hours now and they have cleaned the grass out of the entrance. Quite a few are foraging on the near by bushes and trees and you can see them bringing pollen into the hive. I walked ove to pick up the crate and they seemed to have settled down, I placed some dry sugar into the bottom of the hive on some newspaper ( completed before hiving). I had planned on checking on it in a few days to refill, but since they are pulling in pollen already I will probably wait 6\7 days to do my first inspection and remove the newspaper.

Offline fruitveggirl

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #3 on: May 10, 2014, 07:15:45 pm »
One of my friends said that she NEVER got stung at all her first year. I got stung 14 times. I never did figure out until the autumn that a bear had been nosing around them. Naturally, they were defensive.

Anyway, I agree with the previous commenter -- bees have good and bad days, and you never can tell. However, I heard a lecture recently by Chris Harp, who is a biodynamic beek. He mentioned that if he has to do a cut-out, he will only do it on root days. He said fruit days are also good for working with bees.

BTW -- If your avg temperatures are above 50 degrees, and I imagine they are in Houston, I'd think the bees would prefer syrup to sugar. Are they actually taking the sugar?

Offline nosirrahkcaz

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #4 on: May 10, 2014, 08:42:56 pm »
Not sure with the sugar yet, I also left syrup out for them as well, figured they could choose. Temps are in the mid to high 80's this time of year, soon to be much warmer. I plan on doing first inspection Saturday. I'll let everyone know how it goes. If possible I'll try and snap some pictures to post.

Offline OldMech

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #5 on: May 10, 2014, 08:46:54 pm »
I do not usually have troubles with packages. In fact, as long as the weather is good I dont wear any type of protection... I have tried going without this spring three times...  I have three stings to show for it each time...   Not sure whats going on but the bees are defensive this year.
39 Hives and growing.  Havent found the end of the comfort zone yet.

Offline chux

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2014, 11:26:04 am »
Most of the time, it is completely my fault when I get stung. I feel a little irritated if one of the girls follows me a long way from the hive and stings me when I remove the veil, but that rarely happens. When I open the hive, I'm wearing protective clothing to protect myself from the occasional angry lady, and to protect them from themselves. Sure, there is a sense of freedom and exhilaration when you go in "naked," but for me it isn't worth the risk of getting stung in the eye. I will even suit up when catching a swarm. 95% of the time I would be fine without it, but that other 5% needs to be respected. For example: a couple of weeks ago we had some tornadoes come through the area. The next day I was given the chance to catch a swarm. I suited up and climbed the ladder. A friend decided not to suit up because swarms are docile. When I bumped the branch to drop the bees into the bucket, several fell around him and commenced to do what angry, hungry bees tend to do. We had a group of new beek students there, and they all got a good laugh at his expense.

Bottom line: Respect the bees. Don't blame them if you get stung when you go into their house without gear on. (I am not saying that you are blaming the bees. Only suggesting that wearing gear and not getting stung is better than not wearing gear and getting stung. Captain Obvious here.) Oh, the moment you think you know what the bees are going to do, they will switch up and do something different. I've had beeks with 30 years in, tell me that. We are all learning as we go.
 

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2014, 12:39:34 pm »
I just got my new package hived, but had a quick question. This is my first time and everything I read said the bees would be very doclie at this point. I sprayed them with syrup and followed all the tutorials but I still got stung 3 times and would have been quite a few times more if I didn't jog away and come back a couple minutes later to finish. What did I do wrong or is this the real normal? Thanks for the help.

One thing that you did not mention was, what was the weather like. Was it sunny or at least a little bit of blue sky (good time to look at your hives)? Was it cloudy or drizzling(not so good)? Was the pressure changing due to a storm coming in (major irritant for bees)? Was it before your bees were up and out flying in full force. Was it just before sundown or worse, later?
All of these things drastically affect the temperament of bees.
Not saying you cannot go into your hives during not so good weather but you need to expect to get stung if you do. I was in a hive on Saturday after the clouds had covered the sky. I knew I was pushing my luck, especially since I was not wearing any protection. My girls stayed as calm as can bee. It also helps if you continually treat them with kid cloves. They tend to stay a lot calmer.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin

Offline nosirrahkcaz

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2014, 10:54:08 pm »
It was around mid day  and it was a partly cloudy day with no wind. I was stung shaking the bees from the package into the hive. I don't blame the bees, insects/animals do what their instincts tell them to do, so lesson learned on my part. I was wearing a veil thankfully. During the inspection this weekend I'll definitely be using the full spectrum of protective gear, not that getting stung is a big deal, but worth avoiding if possible.

Offline fruitveggirl

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #9 on: May 13, 2014, 10:32:32 am »
I always wear a veil to avoid getting stung in the face. However, getting stung occasionally is a actually a good thing for beeks. There is a short video by Mike Palmer that explains how family members of beekeepers tend to have much higher rates of bee sting allergies than the general populace. This is because they are exposed to stuff from the hive, but they are typically not stung, so their bodies make the "wrong kind" of antigens. So, even if I don't enjoy getting stung, now I tend to look at stings as "innoculations" rather than something to be avoided.

You can watch Mike's video here if you like: happyhourtopbar.blogspot.com/2014/01/being-stung-is-good-thing.html

Offline nosirrahkcaz

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #10 on: May 16, 2014, 03:40:03 pm »
Just completed my first hive inspection. WOW, that may just be one of the coolest things I've ever seen!! I didn't take pictures as I was nervous and didnt want the added distraction.... Maybe next time. The queen cage was empty and the bees already have comb attached to 6 bars. I didn't brush the bees off to look super close as I didnt bring out a bee brush and I didn't think I'd be that far along already. The bees were chained together creating comb mostly from what I could see, I could see some of the beautiful white comb showing through though and man that was just cool. I have 8 bars in the hive right now and the back 2 had nothing and the 2 in front of them 5\6 respectively didn't have a lot of comb, maybe 25percent comb 3 and 4 were almost to the bottom of the hive , maybe 75 percent there. 1\2 I just peekded at a little and left them alone as I think my manipulation was rather sloppy and I didn't want to upset the bees too much. I assume I should add a couple more bars next week??? The comb that was attached was very straight and following the guide bars. I'm pumped. Looking forward to next weeks inspection.

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: packaged hived
« Reply #11 on: May 16, 2014, 11:33:57 pm »
Congratulation Cas.
Your bees are chaining together to build up heat to help them manipulate the wax.
Jim
Democracy is 2 wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch. Liberty is a well armed lamb contesting the vote.
Ben Franklin