Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: thomashton on April 11, 2006, 12:43:17 pm

Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: thomashton on April 11, 2006, 12:43:17 pm: I just got word a couple minutes ago that my packages are delayed from the 22nd to the 29th and maybe even until the next week in May.

However, they do have some packages that came in yesterday and I could come and get a couple TODAY if I want.

I want!

My wife is heading down to Salt Lake City to pick them up in a couple hours. By 6pm tonight I will have bees flying. I am so excited!
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: fuzzybeekeeper on April 11, 2006, 03:53:28 pm: Sounds like you have a wonderful mate! You owe her a fine evening out on the town. My wife understands how much I love my beekeeping and while she doesn't help in the actual work, she encourages me to spend some of my time "relaxing" doing what I want.

Congratulations on your wise choice.

Fuzzybeekeeper
Title: bees
Post by: Kirk-o on April 11, 2006, 10:07:15 pm: Hey thats great were is colledge ward Utah ?I had bees in Fruit Heights
Utah in the 70's
kirko
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: thomashton on April 12, 2006, 12:16:08 pm: College Ward is just south of Logan in the middle of the valley of Cache County on the Idaho border. It is a rural part of the county and my new girls have miles of alfalfa to collect from.

Unfortunately, my wife didn't get home until almost 7pm so it seemed a little late to hive them last night. I gave them a cool water spray, and then a little later gave them a sugar water spray. They seemed to appreciate both of them.

The weather is beautiful today and will be for the next two days or so. I am going home at lunch time to let the girls fly free and enjoy the rest of the daycollecting pollen and drinking sugar syrup. Hopefully they'll get started right away on comb building. I made 5 gallons of syrup last night to help them along.
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: thomashton on April 12, 2006, 04:52:59 pm: Just got back from hiving my first packages . . . whew . . .

Everything went really well. The only thing I would have changed would have been having a bee brush on hand. Those little buggers get everywhere you don't want them to be.

I had a surprisingly small amount a dead bees and killed very few in the process (that I know of) :wink: .

Thanks to everyone for helping me through this first step. Thousands of bees flying at you and landing on your veil can be very intimidating. Your advice made it much less so than it should have been. 8)
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: Michael Bush on April 12, 2006, 08:12:36 pm: Seeing them all packaged up in that nice box, kind of makes you feel like Pandora...
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: Jay on April 12, 2006, 08:26:08 pm: Quote from: Michael Bush
Seeing them all packaged up in that nice box, kind of makes you feel like Pandora...

darn straight! I just got in from doing my last package and this one I tried John's technique of peeling the screen off the side. Worked well, much less banging and shaking. But Michael you hit the nail on the head, one minute no bees.........next minute pandimonium!! :D
Title: Hot Diggity Daffofil!
Post by: thegolfpsycho on April 12, 2006, 08:41:06 pm: I usually hive them in the evening and it keeps them down. I try to give them a frame of brood also, which I believe makes em go straight to work. I know you can't do that when your setting up your first colonys, but I use a colony thats booming as a donor, and kick start the package. Instead of dwindling, the colony begins growing immediatly. Like Michael, I direct release the queen.. she usually dives straight between the frames and off we go