# First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )



## HappyBeeing (Apr 6, 2013)

:applause: CONGRATS!!! :thumbsup:
The fun and wonder has just begun! The last three weeks have been a constant row of good days for me;I've been so interested in everything my bees do.Also I just like to visit them and listen and watch. So many firsts. First jar of syrup gone,first day they found my fruit trees,first comb built,first full pollen sacks coming in,first head-butt,first view of laying pattern and larvae. Sigh. It's just great. I know you'll be lovin it too!
Congrats again and ENJOY!!! HB


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

Thanks, HB!

I went out about an hour after the hiving and stood nearby, watching and listening. My wife went out later and did the same, commenting on how it's almost mesmerizing to watch.

I went out later to say goodnight to the bees and found that most were in the hive. I took a look in through the observation window and saw that they were nicely clustered around the brood comb we’d hung from a bar. They seem to be content in their new home!

When I went out and stood there the first time after the hiving I had a funny feeling inside--something telling me that our lives had just taken a turn on the road of life, and I'm looking forward to seeing where the bees take us.

Cheers,
Tom

P.S. Thought I'd add some photos:


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Mine wanted nothing to do with the bar of comb I robbed out of another hive they went straight to the follower board and started building comb right above the jar I didn't want to but I had to open it after 2 days to move the jar behind the board before they locked it in


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## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

Congratulations! I'm curious as to why you chose to get a northern package and a southern package instead of two northern. I lost both hives this past winter and had to restart this spring with a package out of Louisiana but am hoping it is the last package I have to buy. I hope to either build them up enough to split them for my second hive or lure a swarm into one of my traps. I had some issues with pests (small hive beetles and wax worms) that came with purchased bees so I am a bit leery of bringing new ones in.


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

Hi, Colleen,

Good question! It's because we ordered the first (southern) package when we were first starting our learning curve. We first started looking into becoming beekeepers in January. We found a beekeeping class listed by a regional beekeepers association and signed up for it. The cost included the first year of dues for the association, so we went to our first meeting on Valentine's Day. There we learned that one of the members sold packages. We went ahead and ordered one from him. My wife wanted to try to catch a swarm for the second hive.

As we learned more I realized that catching a swarm would be a fairly random event. During my online research I came across Gold Star Honeybees and decided I wanted to fill the second hive with Christy's bees. I had to do some persuading to get my wife to agree. I like the idea of a swarm myself but didn't want to count on one so placed our order with Christy as soon as I got her to agree.

I think that starting the two hives within a week of each other should make for interesting comparisons, though nothing that you could safely draw conclusions from. We'll see how it goes. I'm keeping my eye out for sources of northern queens should we decide to re-queen and have come across Olympic Wilderness Apiary as one possible source. We'll just have to see how it goes!

I have started buying materials to build an additional hive and some swarm traps, so perhaps we'll get lucky in that regard as well.

Regards,
Tom


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

Harley Craig said:


> Mine wanted nothing to do with the bar of comb I robbed out of another hive they went straight to the follower board and started building comb right above the jar I didn't want to but I had to open it after 2 days to move the jar behind the board before they locked it in


Harley,

I've some concerns about that happening as well, and plan on keeping an eye out for it. I noticed that some bees were getting around the follower board (I think they're getting past where the observation window is). I had thought about drilling a hole in the follower board and placing the feeder behind it but opted to try putting it in with them to start.

Cheers,
Tom


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## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

My bees were getting past my solid follower too and then would get trapped on the other side and die. I also noticed when I was fighting pests the pest larva were hiding from the bees between the side wall and the follower with the hole in it. I ended up making a new follower that had beespace on the sides and bottom. So far that has been working great - the bees can get to the feeder and the pests lost a hideout.

This year my bees are building up so fast I am going to have to split them so I am really glad I only bought the one package. I am also really glad I can take one of my swarm traps and use it as a nuc for the split!


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## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

Tango Yankee said:


> Harley,
> 
> I've some concerns about that happening as well, and plan on keeping an eye out for it. I noticed that some bees were getting around the follower board (I think they're getting past where the observation window is). I had thought about drilling a hole in the follower board and placing the feeder behind it but opted to try putting it in with them to start.
> 
> ...



Yeah I cut the bottom off of a spare follower board @ 3/8 inch and replaced them after I moved the syrup, and watch them through the window, they had an assembly line under the board transfering feed up to the cluster festooning on the other side, it was pretty cool, and I'm told they wont think that as part of their hive right now so they shouldn't build on that side unless they run out of room on the other.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

I never smoke a package or a swarm. They need the smells to get organized. I would smoke an established colony, though...


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

Michael Bush said:


> I never smoke a package or a swarm. They need the smells to get organized. I would smoke an established colony, though...


And that makes sense to me, Michael. 

With the package I certainly didn't feel a need for it, and off the top of my head I can't think of where I might have read anything about having the smoker handy when hiving a package. I've taken in a heck of a lot of information about beekeeping (including all of your three-volumes-in-one book ) over the past few months. I think that having had the idea of having the smoker lit when working with the bees emphasised in some of my reading and in beekeeping class resulted in my suddenly realizing after it was done that we were out there working with bees without a smoker. All I know for sure is that when I was getting together the items needed to hive a package the smoker never crossed my mind, so I must have absorbed the right information along the way! 

Cheers,
Tom


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

Thanks for the feedback on what worked for those two instances with the follower board, Colleen and Harley! I'll keep both in mind as we go forward.

Cheers,
Tom


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## Silverbackotter (Feb 23, 2013)

Colleen O. said:


> My bees were getting past my solid follower too and then would get trapped on the other side and die. I also noticed when I was fighting pests the pest larva were hiding from the bees between the side wall and the follower with the hole in it. I ended up making a new follower that had beespace on the sides and bottom. So far that has been working great - the bees can get to the feeder and the pests lost a hideout.!



So do both your followers have free space around them for the bees to traverse?

Hank


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## Colleen O. (Jun 5, 2012)

Silverbackotter said:


> So do both your followers have free space around them for the bees to traverse?
> 
> Hank


No they don't. I removed the solid follower and just have the beespace one in the hive. I didn't find the solid one necessary after I moved the entrances to the upper end of the side. I am keeping it just in case I need to divide the hive and have a nuc at one end but since it doesn't fit perfect I would really hesitate to do that. At first it fit perfect but it kept warping and I had to keep trimming it, etc... more trouble than it was worth. The bees seem to be fine with the beespace one.


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*An Update Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

As you might expect, I went out to check on the activity around the hive as soon as I got home from work this evening. There didn't seem to be a lot of activity around the hive; some bees buzzing around the entrance, a few coming and going. I went around the back of the hive and opened the observation window because, you know, I just couldn't resist peeking in! 

Inside I found that both feed bottles were down by about a third (and with fairly equal levels, too.) Even better, an inverted shark-fin shaped comb extending down at least six inches! Woohoo! I tried to take a photo, but one thing that hadn't occurred to us when getting ready to hive the package was to dust the inside of the window after the hive had sat out there empty for a month or so. Here's a poor photo, but the best I have for now. The comb can be seen just beyond the flashlight in the photo:



Lovely!

Here's another lousy photo.



One down side to having observation windows in the side of a Kenyan TBH: you have to get down lower than the window to see up into it. Not so easy for some of us!  But worth the effort.

Cheers,
Tom


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

Checked on the bees when I arrived at home. They’ve taken more syrup, but not near what they took the first day—must be out foraging already. It looks like they’ve got at least four bars of comb going; saw festooning on the nearest one. Very cool! Tomorrow I plan on opening up the hive above the feeder and removing the queen cage and giving the inside of the window a wipe to clear up my view inside. 

Well, after I typed the last sentence I went back out to the hive with the idea of opening up a bar above the feeder and lower the camera lens part of my iPhone into the hive and take a couple of pictures. I went out and raised the lid, and then did as planned. The bees weren’t bothered in the least. I moved over and opened up three bars, then slowly reached in and removed the queen cage, which had several bees on it and at least one inside. I saw bees coming out from under the feeder so I know they were still using it. I took a number of photos, and noticed a comb about 4 inches long and maybe up to 2 inches wide in a stretched oval shape on the floor of the hive. It had some bees on it. I slowly reached in and lifted it out. In the meantime, bees are coming up and flying out from time to time. I did make an effort to try to attach it to one of the bars, but gave it up as probably not worth the effort as it probably wouldn’t stay on so I brought it into the house with me.

I did take out my handkerchief and wiped the inside of the window. 

I may be foolhardy, or be over confident, but I did all this without any gear on—no jacket, gloves, or veil. I simply keep my moves measured, listened to the bees (who were really very quiet) and kept calm even when I felt a bee in my hair. When I could, I bent down and pulled some long grass and brushed the bee out of my hair. (It’s not very long or thick these days.)

Yes, I will be wearing the jacket and veil when I opt to lift out the bars with combs on them

For hive notes, this started around 8 PM, temperature 75 degrees, partly cloudy.

Photos!






I just realized that they've removed all the dead bees that dropped in with them when they were dumped into the hive! There aren't any dead bees on the floor of the hive. :thumbsup:



Cheers,
Tom


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## Darb (Apr 22, 2012)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

I'm expecting my first package in a week, your posts give me a good idea of what's to come...


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

May 16, 2013

Went out to check on the bees and see how they are doing. It’s been 18 days since they were hived. We’ve not had a repeat of finding a bunch of dead bees on the floor, so that’s a good thing. The colony population has dropped quite a bit, but we realize that is going to happen when you don’t have brood emerging during the first three weeks. We’ve never found the queen, but we haven’t looked all that seriously for her. Didn’t think we needed to as the bees are happy and we now have lots of capped brood! We expect a population explosion next week!

The bees are still taking syrup. I think that they’ll be able to start capping honey in a few days as well.







Look at that almost solid wall of brood! We may not have seen her since we hived her, but that queen is doing great!

Other notes: When I opened the top I found in the non-used side of the hive some of those very large black ants. We got them out, but they were back soon after we closed the hive.

We’ve had a problem with our hives rocking back when we opened the lid. I purchased some pre-made wood shims and inserted them between the tops of the stand legs and the hive. I had considered securing the hive to the stand, but I like this better.

I’m going out of town tomorrow. I’m looking forward to coming home next week to a larger colony!


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## jefowler (May 15, 2013)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

Tom,
Great information and photos. I am outside of Dayton, OH. I started my first hive with a package this week. I hived the bees without issue Tuesday night the 14th and they seem to be doing fine. I will be pulling the queen cage tonight. Thanks for posting all this great stuff!
-John


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## shannonswyatt (May 7, 2012)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

I love the hive tool. Did you make that yourself?


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

John, you're quite welcome! I know it helps me to see what others have done or seen, so I figure I owe it to the community to share my experiences. Perhaps we'll have an opportunity to visit each other and see each other's hives.

Shannon, I obtained the hive tool from the same company that makes our hives, Bee Thinking. You can get one of your own here: http://www.beethinking.com/ultimate-top-bar-hive-tool/

Regards,
Tom


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## jefowler (May 15, 2013)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*

Tom,
If you find yourself in the area, send me an email an I would enjoy showing you the hive. I used to turkey hunt out your way, if I find another spot to hunt I will have an excuse to head that way. 
I am curious to find out what your bees did with the comb that fell to the bottom of the hive. I had some comb (nectar) drop when I was removing the queen cage last week. I checked on the hive today - through the window and the bees seem to be attaching it to the false back. I am going to have to open the hive and place it outside.
-John


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## JacobMathis (May 22, 2013)

*Re: An Update Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*



Tango Yankee said:


> As you might expect, I went out to check on the activity around the hive as soon as I got home from work this evening. There didn't seem to be a lot of activity around the hive; some bees buzzing around the entrance, a few coming and going. I went around the back of the hive and opened the observation window because, you know, I just couldn't resist peeking in!
> 
> Inside I found that both feed bottles were down by about a third (and with fairly equal levels, too.) Even better, an inverted shark-fin shaped comb extending down at least six inches! Woohoo! I tried to take a photo, but one thing that hadn't occurred to us when getting ready to hive the package was to dust the inside of the window after the hive had sat out there empty for a month or so. Here's a poor photo, but the best I have for now. The comb can be seen just beyond the cheap led flashlights in the photo:
> 
> ...


Awesome pics dude. Yes activity seems to be bit less but still great work done. What is the latest advancements in the project? Sorry I was not able to read entire thread..


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*Re: Day Two Re: First Package Received and Hived! (Long, as usual. )*



jefowler said:


> Tom,
> If you find yourself in the area, send me an email an I would enjoy showing you the hive. I used to turkey hunt out your way, if I find another spot to hunt I will have an excuse to head that way.
> I am curious to find out what your bees did with the comb that fell to the bottom of the hive. I had some comb (nectar) drop when I was removing the queen cage last week. I checked on the hive today - through the window and the bees seem to be attaching it to the false back. I am going to have to open the hive and place it outside.
> -John


Thanks, John, I will! I'd enjoy seeing another TBH in action and you're always welcome should you make it down here. Sorry I can't offer any turkey hunting to you; we don't have that much land. 

That particular piece of comb I removed from the hive. We did let a piece of comb that we'd cut from a bar (a bit of cross-comb) fall to the floor of the hive and bees were all over it as it was filled with pollen and nectar.

Update coming up!

Cheers,
Tom


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## Tango Yankee (Mar 15, 2013)

*Hive One Update May 23 2013 (Long, as usual. )*

May 23, 2013 Day 25

Today Rhonda and I went out to assess things, expecting to see some changes in the hive. Looking through the window we see about seven combs, but not necessarily a lot more bees. Of course, that would be due to the ongoing losses as our package ages out. 



Opening the hive we found we still have carpenter ants. I’d put a plastic container with the jelly/water/boric acid mix at the base of one of the trees they are living in and after a day one inside the hive itself. Looking down into the hive, among the ants I saw bee parts. Not good. I decided I would spray where they are nesting in the trees, since the bees don’t go around the base of the trees.



We went looking through the comb. We found lots of empty brood cells…



…and an emerging bee! (Sorry about the slightly blurry shot; I need more practice using my camera while wearing a veil.



We spotted the queen (Queen Bea, named by our granddaughter whose middle name is Beatrice). Can you spot her?



Here she is again! This was the first time we spotted her since we released her into the hive. We hadn’t been looking hard for her, though, because it was obvious we had a great queen in there!



This hive has very few capped drone brood, but we do see a lot of drones from the original package so I think that’s why—they feel they have enough drones for now. It is also a very calm hive. We generally do not need to use smoke and nothing seems to bother them. We’re pretty happy with them.


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