Placement of bees

[Powisden]

Hi, I'm hoping someone can answer this question, please. When I add my bees to my TBH which end do I add them to the hive? - will they move to the opposite end or stay where they are and build towards the other end? - and do I need to limit their space inside the hive as one website suggested for the first 24 hours?

Thank you in advance.

[charlie b]

Powisden...I'm no expert but have studied TB's a lot and read a lot and watched a lot of videos...Here is how I'm going to do it...My entrances are on the side, on one end, not both and not in the middle...The bees will build on the end with the entrances....Also, some recommend that we direct release the queen and do not hang her from a top bar as they might build some messed up comb....here's a quote from Michael Bushs website...
"They hang the queen cage and get a first messed up comb because of the queen cage.They will always build the first comb from the cage and subsequent combs parallel to that one. So you have now doomed every comb in your hive to be messed up. Hanging the queen cage to “be safe”, is not “being safe”. Direct release her. Yes, they MIGHT abscond, but in my experience they will do it with or without the queen. Typically they like the one next door better and leave that one there anyway." .....http://www.bushfarms.com/beestopbarhives.htm

[Powisden]

OK, thank you very much for that. Very helpful.

[HomeSteadDreamer]

When we hived our package.  We used a follower board to make the area near the entrance about 5 bars wide.  We hived them at the entrance end and yes they build back.  It took a while but now (1 year later) the first bar or two is mostly stores then the brood chamber starts then honey frames.  But the first year each bar was helter skelter as the queen and the workers fought for space.  There was alot of back filling the brood nest during flows and her laying any where she could find.

[Powisden]

Yes, that's what I read - to use the follower with 5 or 6 bars to one side and they build their brood combs there. I just re-placed the follower with 6 bars making up the intro area so here's hoping all goes well when I put them in. Did you leave the queen with candy to be eaten through or did you just release her straight in?

[chux]

My experience last year was about what homesteaddreamer said. I did give them a little more space to start. Maybe 8 bars... I did the package and also a swarm that way, at one end. I didn't close the entrance off. For the package, I suspended the cage in the middle of the space and didn't have any trouble at all with wonky comb. Just dumb luck, I guess. I left her in the cage with candy, until they released her.

Oh, the swarm is going strong now, a year later. The package decided to supercedure, then swarmed after a month or so. Go figure.

By the way, that package queen was marked and clipped. I will never order a clipped queen again. I believe that had something to do with the early supercedure.
 
 

[Powisden]

Thank you for that. It will certainly be interesting to see what happens once they're installed. With my luck they'll take one look and bolt as soon as I open the doors lol.

[Joe D]

I have never got a package, but have installed swarms.  In a new TBH had several bars out, dumped them in, put the bars back, and installed the follower board at about bar 9.  That gave them 8 bars between the follower and the entrance.  I have requeened a couple of times, would lay the queen cage at the entrance for a little, then open hive move a few bars and hold cage down in the hive, place her in the bottom of hive, if the didn't try to ball her I would open the cage, with it in the bottom of the hive.  Has worked for me.  Good luck




Joe

[HomeSteadDreamer]

We hung the queen dead center of about bar 3 or 4. After a few days they let her out and we cut the cage out of the comb they built around her.  They built straight around her.  We have a triangle starter strip and made sure she was hung in the center of the starter strip.  Our comb is pretty straight sometimes they try to curve the ends or try to build some extra deep honey comb.

[Powisden]

ok, thank you. It's going to be an interesting time I see.