THEY'RE HERE!

[bqueenMT]

Hi everyone! I haven't been posting - just lurking and learning. Now that final exams are finished, I have a week to do bee things.
 :D
I picked up my package yesterday and when I got home there were gale-force winds so I didn't shake them into the hive. Today it is raining.  :(  I feel bad for the poor little things. Homeless and sitting in my dining room. Tomorrow should be a better day for installing - I hope.

The sticky point is that DH and I are leaving on vacation on Saturday. I know that you need to check to make sure Ms Queen got out okay about 24 hours after putting everyone in. That means I have until Thursday at the latest to get this done.

Even though there are lots of things blooming right now I thought I would still feed them - it may be quite chilly. Is a sugar water ratio of 2 parts water to 1 part sugar okay? Do I need to feed them no matter what after installation?

Anyway, I am sitting here listening to them buzz away. I checked the post about package bees and mine pass all the criteria - just need to wait for the right weather to put them in.

[Jay]

The springtime ratio is 1:1 or one pint of water to one pound of sugar. Yes you should feed them after you hive them if you are trying to get them to draw foundation, because this will stimulate the wax glands to start producing wax. You should also feed them while they are inside your house by spraying them lightly with the same sugar solution because many times if they have come through the mail and have been inside the package box for a few days, they have drained the syrup in the feeder can and are now starving. Good luck with your timing! :D

[Miss Chick-a-BEE]

It needs to take more than 24 hours for the queen to be released. Usually about 3 days.

If I were you, this is what I would do. Until you can hive the bees, spray the package with sugar water so they can collect and eat it off the screening. Hope to have a good day to hive them just as soon as possible. When you get them in the hive, leave the queen in the little cage (of course). Give them sugar water in a feeder. Leave the hive alone for atleast 3 days, and many people wait a week. Then check the hive and see if the queen has been released. If she hasn't been released on a check in 3 days, you can maybe help the bees by poking some the the candy out of the hole on the queen cage. If you check after a week of hiving the bees, and the queen still isn't out, you can pretty safely go ahead and release her yourself. At that time they should know her smell well enough to not kill her.

Beth

[Blackbird]

It sounds like the queen has already been with those bees for more than three days, a couple days to ship her and a couple of days in your house, she should be good to release when you hive them. Three to four days if pleanty for the  bees to accept her.

Stacie