# Newbie needs help - packages arrived 6 days late



## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

I'd certainly try a cardboard box or even a miniature top bar hive with the same bar length just to get the bees out and foraging. 

Cheers,
Matt


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## bbuddy (Jun 11, 2010)

What happens to the queens? Won't the two packages fight if combined?


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## bobber128 (Jun 6, 2010)

Pick one queen, put it's cage in with the bees from both boxes, and install them the same way you normally would.... by the time she is released, they should all have accepted her as their queen.... my $.02


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## bakerboy (Apr 29, 2008)

I would combine the live bees from both packages, but only put in one queen. With two small populations, the newspaper combine Is probably unnecessary. 

Spray both packages well with sugar water, dump in the first, smoke the bejeesus out of them and then immediately dump in the second. Place the queen cage on the floor of the hive, remove it in three days.

If you are feeling lucky, you could try a direct release of the queen. If they kill her, then put the second one in via the candy/cage release. My guess is that amid all the confusion with the dumping, the sugar syrup and the smoke, the queen will slip past scrutiny from the bees from the other package.

These bees have had a hard enough time, they need to be hived now, not a week from now. Use one of your existing hives now, start building a third tomorrow. Or, make a dividing board to go in the middle of other hive and dump one of the new packages in either side. This would buy you enough time to build the third hive.


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## Beethinking (Jun 2, 2008)

Bakerboy had good suggestions. Go that route.  

Cheers,
Matt


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## bbuddy (Jun 11, 2010)

Thanks to you both for your help!

Sooo, you don't think they can go a week or so in a cardboard box for a temporary hive, (with openings of course)?

We have company coming, won't have the time to make another hive.

If I put them into 1/2 of a hive, with a new package in the other half, how hard is it going to be to move one side to a new hive in a week or so? Harder than moving them from a cardboard box? I do have extra top boards I can put in a cardboard box...

oh, and I don't have a smoker...guess I need to order one?

The bees around here are SOOO gentle that I just move slowly around them without a problem (sometimes I leave the top off a 55 gallon drum of ground feed - corn, soy, vits and minerals, and the bees are in there by the hundreds (they LOVE the stuff), and I just go ahead and scoop out what I need without any trouble!)


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## Lauren (Jun 10, 2010)

I saw a temporary hive made of a plastic square planter with a hole drilled in the side.... the top bars lay right across and then were bungied down. I thought that was pretty quick and easy. AND easy to transfer to a tbh.

Also, can you put them to the outside of one of your follower boards and drill a hole toward the bottom to make a separate hive entrance?

Too new to be of help, but good luck!


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## Sam-Smith (Jul 26, 2009)

I would go the rout of the divider board in one hive to make two smaller ones until you get a third hive, fairly easy to move the bees to a new hive just move the bars, then tack some leaves covering (not blocking) the new hive entrance, this should get them to reorient and not go back to the "old" hive.


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## DavesBees (Jun 2, 2009)

Lauren,
Good for you….never too new! That is a great idea. Two flower pot hives. You save both colonies with their queens and they can be stationed where their future hive will be. Stronger than a cardboard box and the only thing to build is top bars. There are a lot of good suggestions here but I have to say Lauren’s is quick and easy.


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## bbuddy (Jun 11, 2010)

Sam-Smith said:


> I would go the rout of the divider board in one hive to make two smaller ones until you get a third hive, fairly easy to move the bees to a new hive just move the bars, then tack some leaves covering (not blocking) the new hive entrance, this should get them to reorient and not go back to the "old" hive.


Thanks for the suggestion, this is what I did, made another divider board, so I have two hives in one, and one hive in the other. Not enough survivors from the first packages to support two hives, not sure they'll make it even in one hive, but at least I tried...

I peaked (naughty naughty) into one the the new packaged hives, and they are drawing perfect comb totally straight on two bars already! YAY!

I made the bars by cutting 2x6's into 20 inch boards, then ripping three 1.5 inch squares (with a bit left over) from each board and then cut each square into triangles. Then I ripped the triangles' sides down to either 1.25 or 1.5 depending on whether for brood or honey, then notched the ends to lay flat on the hive sides.

So I got 24 top bars per 2x6. (Minus some learning curve errors)

Oh, and I just made 4 foot long box hives - Tanzanian.

Now, if the older packages make it, I have to make another Box!


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