# Stumped on a package bee abscondment



## Roland (Dec 14, 2008)

Was there any food in the hive into which they where placed?

Where was the queen? Released or not?

Crazy Roland


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

He said he place a trough feeder above them ( with HBH I might add 1 tsp to the qt) and that the bees perked up after getting a little drink. The queen was in a 3 hole-r with attendants left inside the cage. It was new equipment supplied by the package supplier.


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## Troutsqueezer (May 17, 2005)

I hate to sound so cold because bees cost a chunk of change but many times bees abscond for no reason known to mankind, even brand new packages. It's happened to me more than once. Chalk it up to bad luck.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Trout, I have hived thousands of packages over the years. Way to many.....and I fail to recall any abandonment not proceeded by an ant invasion or a dead queen or some other "significant event." In yards where we pour hundreds at a shot I see different levels of drift but a wholesale "lets get the bleep out of these new digs" is not something I ever recall seeing.


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## Troutsqueezer (May 17, 2005)

Honey-4-All said:


> Trout, I have hived thousands of packages over the years. Way to many.....and I fail to recall any abandonment not proceeded by an ant invasion or a dead queen or some other "significant event." In yards where we pour hundreds at a shot I see different levels of drift but a wholesale "lets get the bleep out of these new digs" is not something I ever recall seeing.


Can't say that anymore, can ya? I've only hived a few dozen and it's happened thrice.


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## Honey-4-All (Dec 19, 2008)

Troutsqueezer said:


> Can't say that anymore, can ya? I've only hived a few dozen and it's happened thrice.


Maybe you misread my original statement. This happened to a gentleman way across the fruited plain and over the great divide in South Carolina. He called me about replacement packages. As the bees are so darn expensive now as days I spent over half an hour on the phone trying to get to the root of the problem to help him avoid the same issue again. More often than not I can drill down to what happened and help the person avoid another package pitfall. As to why you have had the unfortunate experience of three out of a dozen I would suspect that there were underlying issues that caused your bees to hit the road prematurely. Bees don't just up and leave that easily....


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## Troutsqueezer (May 17, 2005)

I've hived a couple of dozen actually. All the ingredients for a happy life were there in my cases. Beekeeping isn't rocket surgery, the basics are easily understood so when they do leave with no signs pointing to why they chose to do so, you just have to chalk it up to bad luck. Truth is, this happens to a number of my beekeeper buddies as well. Can't say any of us notify the bee supplier when this happens, we suck it up and move on.


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## Michael Palmer (Dec 29, 2006)

Honey-4-All said:


> The queen was in a 3 hole-r with attendants left inside the cage.


Virgin or mated queen loose in the package?


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## babybee (Mar 23, 2012)

Maybe some African genetics???


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## David LaFerney (Jan 14, 2009)

There you go. A loose queen sounds likely.


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## sqkcrk (Dec 10, 2005)

Did the queen emerge from the cage? I have heard of bees from different packages drifting to other hives during or after installation, but that's not absconding.


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## Vance G (Jan 6, 2011)

I can't help but wonder if the inside of the boxes smell of paint or too much HealthyBeeNostrum, bare foundationless frames or some such other than luck factor. I haven't done thousands but I have done hundreds and though I have suffered bodacious drifting away from unpopular nonsmelling queens, I have never had a total abscound.

A local novice hived 8 packages in a row and when he got to the end of the line, he had 8 balls of bees hanging from the trees away from his shiny new freshly painted foundationless boxes. He insisted the boxes had been adequately aired out so I just commiserated with him on his 'bad luck'. I do not have the answer, only suspicions.


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## bluegrass (Aug 30, 2006)

Sometimes they abscond from new equipment if a screen bottom board is left open on install. If the queen was left behind in a cage I agree that there was a loose queen in the package. That does happen... I have found loose queens hanging on the outside of packages; so it is entirely possible that one found it's way in.


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## HeritageHoney (Feb 28, 2013)

I agree with the above "loose queen (virgin or mated) in the package or the screened bottom board" theories--seen it happen with both.


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## snl (Nov 20, 2009)

When the bees "left" was there still a queen in the 3 holer? Or was she released and went with them??


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