# New Guy Installing Bees This Week, Questions



## BEAR! (May 6, 2011)

Wow! 60 views and not one responce?

I've gotten an answer to the first question and an alternative to my question 4 on feeding from another source but nothing here.


Anybody have any advice on this forum?


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## BoilerJim (Apr 15, 2011)

Sorry Bear, No answers here. I am just like you. My 10 year old daughter and & will be installing bees this week as well. I am one of the 60 views to your question but I can offer no advice. :scratch:

Plus, I don't use or have a top bar hive.

I am curious as to what some of the long time experts will say. There is a lot of knowledge on this forum.

Jim


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## dixiebeeco (May 3, 2011)

Bear,
Shouldn't be any issues with the Russian and Italians living that close together. You might find out later that the Italians might try to rob the Russians when the nectar flow goes away. Keep with the smallest opening on the entrance reducer until the new bees begin to hatch (approx 21 days) and the hive has grown large enough to protect itself. 
About the "bee tree", shouldn't be an issue if you keep the entrace reduced to let the colony get big enough to protect from robbing.


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## sevenbravo (Sep 30, 2010)

I started off with 8 bars. I used a boardman entrance feeder since I have a bottom entry with a porch, plus I have an entrance reducer. I used a candy plug in the queen cage and simply dangled the cage between the bars with the metal clip bent over the top of the bar. No problems. Removed it in two days and the queen was gone. No cross combing in my case. I wouldn't worry about the different bees being in the same area.


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## Kelbor (Apr 26, 2011)

O.P.,
I think so many views and no answers is because all your answers have been discussed a million times - people are more curious if you might have a unique dilemma probably... I have found the "search" tool indispensable when perusing for answers to my questions here.

Good luck from a fellow Newbee


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## RussianBee (May 5, 2011)

I'm new to it too, will be installing my bees in a couple of weeks (please, help me God!!!), but I have tried using search tool, for me it doesnt seem to find things as good as I would like it to. I will be posting key words, it would come up with nothing, but later I would accidentally come across what I was searching for, with lots of discussions about it... So I learned to try again and again...
I just asked the question about feeding them, one of the replies I got was to put sugar syrup in a plastic bag with a few small holes poked in it, and place it on the bottim board, the bees should do the rest...


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## AmericasBeekeeper (Jan 24, 2010)

Use as many top bars as the package is wide plus one. 
Unless you know why you cannot attach the cage, try it.
Direct release is risky at best for a new beekeeper. There are so many sad stories on this forum. You almost want to slap the 1D10T that suggests direct release.
Most bee yards have multiple genetics and don't know it.
Feed from the top if you can.
The feral hive will only become a problem with robbing or possibly disease transfer.


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## Honeycomb (Jan 15, 2010)

Hi Bear,

If your night time temperatures aren't below 50 degrees or high 40's, you can put the queen cage right on the floor. I did this, and it worked like a charm. It also helps to minimize risk of the bees building crazy comb.


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## Michael Bush (Aug 2, 2002)

>You almost want to slap the 1D10T that suggests direct release.

I hear more sad stories of messed up comb because of hanging the queen cage. This 1D10T would play it safe and direct release.

The most important concept to grasp with any natural comb hive is that one good comb leads to another in the same way that one bad comb leads to another. You cannot afford to not be paying attention to how they start off. The most common cause of a mess of comb is leaving the queen cage in as they always start the first comb from that and then the mess begins. I can't believe how many people want to "play it safe" and hang the queen cage. They obviously can't grasp that it is almost a guarantee of failure to get the first comb started right, which without intervention is guaranteed to mean every comb in the hive will be messed up. Once you have a mess the most important thing is to make sure the LAST comb is straight as this is always the guide for the NEXT comb. You can't take a "hopeful" view that the bees will get back on track. They will not. You have to put them back on track. This has nothing to do with wires or no wires. Nothing to do with frames or no frames. It has to do with the last comb being straight.


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## Skilter (Mar 23, 2011)

new beek here, but I used 8 bars with a large feral swarm and they took well. But, they started to cross comb the largest comb about 2 bars in and had 3 little straight ones. I just separated the two that were barely connected, shaved and pushed the part that was off center back center and inserted an empty bar between keeping the 3 that were straight. We will see how it goes.

That being said...I have put 2 other feral swarms in another top bar with 8 bars and both have absconded and I am not sure why. It's a bummer for sure. Of course, I don't feed my TBHs... maybe I should.


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## rtoney (Apr 20, 2011)

I am still working on a video of my mess with cross comb. I put in a swarm so did not have to worry about a queen release but did not check them for 13 days wanting them to build and not feel intimidated. BIG mistake, check them after 2 or 3 days to see how they are building comb and get it straight before they go to far. I think one of the major things is not for you to be intimidated, they are just bees, have fun with them. Mine have had a knack for cleaning up my intrusions.


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## RussianBee (May 5, 2011)

...get it straight before they go to far...
How DO you get it straight?


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## Adam Foster Collins (Nov 4, 2009)

I started from a nuc and cut the combs out of the frames and hung them from the top bars with wire. Once you have some combs built, you can use that to start other hives in the future.

One thing you can do, is to cut a piece or two of old comb from a frame, cut that to fit your hive and fasten it to a couple of bars, with an empty bar between. This will act as a comb guide, and the bees will make comb straight to it. But you have to have access to some comb for that. Maybe you know someone with bees...

Another thing you can do is make sure you have good comb guides on your bars. And it helps if they are 1/2 to an inch or so proud of the bar. I like to rub hard wax on my guides before I put them in.

This is why I actually think that cut-outs from a nuc is not so bad - you get the solid straight pieces of comb to start with.

If you're trying to get them to build straight comb with none of that, then I think you can benefit from the follower board, squeezing them into the first four or five bars, and hoping that they build across the wides point and use your comb guides. But you have to check on them in the first day or two to make sure, cause they'll build up super fast. Once you have a couple of combs in there - even if you have to adjust them, you can pretty easily in the beginning, because they're soft. Bottom line is - you have to be ready to get in there and get hands-on to make them straight. And you have to be prepared with a way to fasten the combs on if that becomes necessary. You can use straight pins, elastic bands, string, wire. Lots of things and it doesn't take much with for these initial, small and light combs.

In this regard, having a window is a nice way to monitor comb building.

I wonder it a person hung sheets of foundation on every second bar, if that might encourage the bees to build straight combs between them, and once they get started that way, you could remove the foundation - if they didn't start drawing that out as well. If they do fine. So that's something you might also try.

For feeding, at the beginning, I have used a regular inverted jar feeder (I know many hate them) and they have worked fine for me.

Adam


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## BEAR! (May 6, 2011)

Well.... thanks for all the responces and info. I just wished I had read Michael Bush's reply sooner.

I installed two 3# packages wednesday evening at about 6:30 pm and I did hang the queen cage. I will be removing it friday evening so I'll be checking to see if the comb is straight if not I'll be working on it to get it straight, thanks Michael.

This was my daughter and I's first time working with bees and she was kinda nervous but the bees were very calm and I think watching countless videos and reading many books helped. 

My wife video'd the whole thing and I plan on watching the whole thing to see how nervous I looked.

Thanks again for the advice/comments I appreciate it.


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## rtoney (Apr 20, 2011)

RussianBee,
Adam explained it well but try to invision what he is talking about and then trying to do it is something different (it was for me anyways) I took the comb that was crossed and tried to put it back with all of my gear on and get it tied and back in the hive. That did not work either, it did not take long for it to drop off the bar. The second time I took comb that had been crossed cleaned the bees off took it to a safe spot where I could work it and did much better. I took a bar and a flat piece for the bottom then tied it together and it worked much better. I will try to finish up my video today with an inspection and see how they are doing.


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## RussianBee (May 5, 2011)

Dear rtoney! 
Thank you! I'll be on the lookout for that video!


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## RussianBee (May 5, 2011)

Dear Adam!
Thank you for all the details you described! It was wery helpful! Now one more question- what is regular inverted jar feeder? Can a person make one? I will need some kind of feeder in a couple of weeks when my bees arrive, I'm researching whats out there that is not terribly complicated. Thank you in advance.


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## BEAR! (May 6, 2011)

I have an update.

We installed the bees on the 11th and hung the queen cage between bars with a paper clip.
I went back on the 14th and removed the queen cage and they had already started building comb on the bars the right direction.

My daughter and I went back on the 25th and the ladies had been busy, they have built comb on 5 bars with 4 of them being pretty big. We couldn't find the queen in my top bar hive but we did find my daughters in her Langstroth.


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## Skilter (Mar 23, 2011)

Well... if it is any consolation to you, I have to do major surgery tomorrow. I have a feral swarm that has major cross combed in less than 5 days due to the hard ligustrum bloom here in N Texas right now. They are building 45 degrees out from the corner of my hive and I am going to rip them down and re attache with pipe cleaners tomorrow. The only thing I really worry about is my queen taking flight during surgery! Wish me luck, but here are my observances from a new beek that has been working with feral swarms in multiple TBHs.

Hive MUST be level or have a VERY slight uphill slope if you are using end entrances and not middle. Do not give them more than 5 bars to begin. People probably disagree here, but my swarms absconded if I have more than 6 bars (I run 4 footers). I will never put a swarm into a TBH with more than 5 bars from the follower from here on out. I think it makes them feel too defenseless with too much room, but then again, I run strictly screened bottoms and that could affect that as well.

.02 from my observances...


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