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Chronological Thread  
  • From: Brad Kosiba <bradkosiba AT gmail.com>
  • To: Orange County Beekeepers Association <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] Package Bees
  • Date: Fri, 31 Mar 2017 11:02:17 -0400

Sam,

It sounds like you did the right things.  

However, the bees are always free to go anytime they want to....  I am sorry yours chose to up and leave.  If "almost all bees and queen are gone", I think that you have little choice other than to start over again.  Until there are open brood on the frames, there is little keeping a colony in place other than lack of will to trade up for a better locale.  This is one of the advantages of nucs, they come with frames of brood to keep the colony focused on things other than other homes on the market.  

But I think you just had some plain bad luck with this one.  Most packages work fine.

Sorry,

Brad

On Wed, Mar 29, 2017 at 5:49 PM, Sam Costello <swcostello3 AT icloud.com> wrote:
Hello Fellow Bee Keepers,

I have several questions about a package of bees I installed Saturday into my hive.

One, the installation went okay, several stings, but place the queen on frame 4 facing out, candy up and cork out of candy side. I placed queen using rubber band. 2:1 sugar water to feed, pollen substitute on top of frames. Check yesterday and queen out and moving on frames. Lots of workers working on frames and drawing comb on foundations.

Two, I checked hive with out opening and saw foragers with pollen boots — thinking queen is laying eggs. Checked today after class, opened hive and almost all bees and queen gone — swarmed I guess. Some pollen in cells and nectar (or sugar water) in cells too.  Sugar water almost empty (quart jar feeder).

Does anyone have a hypothesis why the queen may have left?

Can I buy a queen and try to save the hive?

Should I buy another package?

Thanks for any comments or suggestions,
Sam Costello


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--
Bradley E Kosiba, PhD
Biochemist-Beekeeper-Gardener-Scouter
 


  • [ocba] Package Bees, Sam Costello, 03/29/2017
    • Re: [ocba] Package Bees, Brad Kosiba, 03/31/2017

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