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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: mike johnson <mm AT reddrum.com>
  • Cc: Orange County Bees <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Packages in cold weather
  • Date: Mon, 24 Mar 2014 15:09:40 -0400

Mike,

Wow, congrats on getting packages so early. You are off to a great start. Just remember to feed, feed feed.

The upper 20s that we are supposed to get for a few hours tonight/tomorrow night isn't "cold" by bee-wintering standards. Your girls should be fine. What you've done shouldn't hurt anything but it is over the top. Wrapping hives isn't necessary (or advised) in Piedmont NC.

The only caveat I have is that if the queen hasn't been released yet, the colony could possibly go into cluster someplace where she isn't. But that's a bunch of "ifs", and it probably isn't too likely since they'll most likely cluster on newly drawn comb, and that will most likely be where the caged queen is. Trying to do something about that (going into a just-started hive in cold weather and manually releasing the queen, perhaps earlier than you should) may very well be worse than the risk of not doing anything. So I wouldn't worry about it. She has probably already been released anyway. As L.L. Langstroth said, "Sometimes the worst thing we can do is 'something'."

There was a post on a related topic recently; see the archives:
https://lists.ibiblio.org/sympa/arc/ocba/2014-February/003042.html

Randall Austin


On Mon, Mar 24, 2014 at 1:40 PM, mike johnson <mm AT reddrum.com> wrote:
I'm a second year beekeeper that got a nuc last year.

I got two new packages last saturday and put them in 8 frame hives with one box each.  I immediately started feeding them 1:1 mix.  The queens were in cages that I placed hanging from the middle of the brood box with candy in tact.

With the cold weather this week is there is anything I can/need to do in order to give them the best chance of surviving this week?  Last night I cut 3/4" insulation and wrapped the hives in it.  I know moisture can be a problem so I'll remove it immediately after the cold weather.  I also have a entrance reducer with the smallest opening and put a solid piece in where the mite checking board goes.

Is there is anything else I should do?

Thanks in advance!


mike

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