The Honey Factory

[duluthralphie]

They will still be friendly in 5 days especially if the queen has been released. I would check it sooner than 5 days to make sure they have plenty of sugar water. You don't want them to run out of food.

They have about a gallon, it was a package and not a nuc. As I understand it a nuc is a lot more bees?


Can you tell me about the bees. Have the bees in a package always lived with the Queen or are they just random workers thrown in with any old Queen?

Also there was a drone on the cover of the box. I pointed it out and asked him if that was a drone.

Larger bee, boxy looking not sleek like the queen.

He said “yep, that’s a drone,”. Then squished it. Told me I did not want drones right now.

Is that normal and why?

 

[duluthralphie]

It can happen but it is more likely in warmer weather than in cold weather.

this is our forecast.

 

[duluthralphie]

I will take a peek in 2 days at the feed. I should be able to do that and not get attacked.

 

[R2elk]

They have about a gallon, it was a package and not a nuc. As I understand it a nuc is a lot more bees?


Can you tell me about the bees. Have the bees in a package always lived with the Queen or are they just random workers thrown in with any old Queen?

Also there was a drone on the cover of the box. I pointed it out and asked him if that was a drone.

Larger bee, boxy looking not sleek like the queen.

He said “yep, that’s a drone,”. Then squished it. Told me I did not want drones right now.

Is that normal and why?

A gallon will keep them fine for more than 5 days. I use the quart entrance feeders. It allows me to easily see when they need refilled.

Package bees are harvested from any hives with excess bees that can be spared. There may be multiple different strains of bees in a package of bees. They have not lived with the queen bee that comes with the package of bees. This is one of the reasons that the queen must be separated from the rest of the workers to give them time to acclimate to her instead of killing her.

Drones are male bees whose sole purpose in life is to eat and to fertilize the queen. They do not do anything to help collect or produce the feed. As long as you received a fertile queen, you have no use for drones.

Previously they used to ship virgin queens which would then need to go on a mating flight to become fertilized before returning to the hive to begin laying eggs. If you got a virgin queen and killed off all the drones, your bees would soon die without the queen producing new replacements.

The mating flight of the virgin queens could end up with the bees moving out if she did not return to the hive.

 

[duluthralphie]

A gallon will keep them fine for more than 5 days. I use the quart entrance feeders. It allows me to easily see when they need refilled.

Package bees are harvested from any hives with excess bees that can be spared. There may be multiple different strains of bees in a package of bees. They have not lived with the queen bee that comes with the package of bees. This is one of the reasons that the queen must be separated from the rest of the workers to give them time to acclimate to her instead of killing her.

Drones are male bees whose sole purpose in life is to eat and to fertilize the queen. They do not do anything to help collect or produce the feed. As long as you received a fertile queen, you have no use for drones.

Previously they used to ship virgin queens which would then need to go on a mating flight to become fertilized before returning to the hive to begin laying eggs. If you got a virgin queen and killed off all the drones, your bees would soon die without the queen producing new replacements.

The mating flight of the virgin queens could end up with the bees moving out if she did not return to the hive.

Interesting. The bees were all bunched up in a ball around the queen. She is suppose to be bred.

They are all suppose to be Saskartraz.

It would be a tad scary to pay the money we did for bees, then have to let them fly out for their tryst and hope they return.


So I am back to 5 days before opening the box.

 

[duluthralphie]

When I went out to talk to them, they were not around.

There were no bees outside the box except for some dead ones. I hope they didn’t up and leave.

 

[R2elk]

When I went out to talk to them, they were not around.

There were no bees outside the box except for some dead ones. I hope they didn’t up and leave.
View attachment 2078145

They didn't leave. They are in the hive sucking down the sugar water, tending to the queen and building wax cells.

 

[duluthralphie]

They didn't leave. They are in the hive sucking down the sugar water, tending to the queen and building wax cells.

Do they work at night in the dark?

of course, it’s dark in the box.. hmm?

 

[R2elk]

Do they work at night in the dark?

of course, it’s dark in the box.. hmm?

They don't call them busy bees for nothing. They do not need any light for what goes on in the hive but they do not work outside the hive in the dark. The amount of time they spend outside the hive is dependent on warm enough temperatures (supposedly 60°F+) and daylight. I have seen my bees out foraging at temps as low as 40°F on a sunny calm day. They also don't like very windy days.

 

[R2elk]

The Saskatraz bees arrived this morning. It is 56°F in the shade so it is much warmer where they are. They are buzzing around pretty good. None of mine acted like they could be lappers. However, none of them made any attempt to sting me. I was not wearing a veil or gloves.