bees arriving tomorrow ...talk me thru it ?

[dilsdaisy]

So had a call last night that a beekeeper has a 'boxed swarm' that we can collect tomorrow evening (eeeeeek!!) ...we decided last week we were going to wait til next year but hey ho ..fate has intervened!
Been reading lots of different ways to hive them ..but think some real life advice would be more useful (our mentor is on his hols)
So please talk me through what we do ...we have national hives in the garden.
Do we hive them in the evening (would be about 9pm) or morning
Do we feed them straight away or will they be able to forage ?
Do we leave the hive entrance open or blocked?
Thanks for your help ...be gentle

 

[drex]

How long have they been boxed?
How far away is this beekeeper.?
Assuming that they are newly caught swarm, I would just tip the, into my national, leaving a few frames out to make a hole in which to tip them. If a good size and plenty of forGe around you could add the full complement of frames at this time of year.if not add two extra frames to that which they came on.
Leave them to forage . Do not feed for first 3 days so that they use up any honey in their stomachs. Let them settle in before opening again .

 

[dilsdaisy]

They will have been boxed for four days by tomorrow and the beekeeper is about 12 miles away....
Thanks for the info and replying

 

[jonnybeegood]

They will have been boxed for four days by tomorrow and the beekeeper is about 12 miles away....
Thanks for the info and replying

Ask him if he has fed them, if not you will need to feed them in the evening you hive them. I would put a QE over the entrance for the first day once all the bees are in that is. If youre using foundation to start off i would feed them 1litre 1:1 syrup then 1/2 litre in a couple of days & then see if theyre storing it, if they are i would stop feeding, thats just what i would/ have done, others may vary ;-)

 

[dexter's shed]

you'll get 12 different answers from 10 beekeepers, so take what info you need and forget the rest.

without knowing if this swarm has a virgin or mated queen, I would leave them in the nuc for a minimum of 2 weeks before transferring to your hive, just place the nuc where your hive will be, as if it's a virgin, she needs to mate, and transferring to a big hive puts a lot of strain on those bees, check the nuc in 2 weeks to see if you have eggs/brood, and if so, then catch the queen, mark her and transfer the frames over, ideally you want all the frames covered in bees and BIAS, but don't worry if not,

 

[BrianO]

So had a call last night that a beekeeper has a 'boxed swarm' that we can collect tomorrow evening (eeeeeek!!) ...we decided last week we were going to wait til next year but hey ho ..fate has intervened!
Been reading lots of different ways to hive them ..but think some real life advice would be more useful (our mentor is on his hols)
So please talk me through what we do ...we have national hives in the garden.
Do we hive them in the evening (would be about 9pm) or morning
Do we feed them straight away or will they be able to forage ?
Do we leave the hive entrance open or blocked?
Thanks for your help ...be gentle

Congrats !!!

Reduce entrance to a couple of bee spaces, allows them to defend and regulates them leaving for first time so calmer exit and I believe less lost due to all piling out and taking off , gives more time get bearings and to orientate.

As said tip them in carefully, close them up ( not entrance ! ) and leave them do their thing for a week, then you need to inspect, find clip and mark queen.

And....Most Importantly .... Enjoy

Also you probably have covered but.... Hives in area to get early morning sun ? protected from prevailing winds, something as in barrier , preferably deciduous planting to get them up and away if in close vicinity to neighbours ?

 

[B+.]

a beekeeper has a 'boxed swarm' that we can collect tomorrow evening (eeeeeek!!)

I usually hive a swarm in the evening. This gives them all night to settle down before the heat of the day warms up the box.
I don't think reducing the entrance will help (although that is what is usually suggested). If they want to leave, they will, even if it is a small entrance. You will need to reduce it later as the risk of robbing increases (watch out for wasp activity).

 

[dilsdaisy]

Brill thanks everyone , will make notes as to what to ask him when I collect and will no doubt be back on here before during and after!
On a side issue ...do I take a 'gift' to exchange for the swarm ..what is the etiquette ? (thinking a bottle of Sloe Gin?)
And ..(last thing) we have three empty closed hives in a row on a stand.. should we mark them with colours or will they not get disoriented on their first outing with which hive is home?

 

[B+.]

Brill thanks everyone , will make notes as to what to ask him when I collect and will no doubt be back on here before during and after!
On a side issue ...do I take a 'gift' to exchange for the swarm ..what is the etiquette ? (thinking a bottle of Sloe Gin?)

I am sure he would be over the moon with an appreciation of gratitude. You don't need to feel that it is required though. Beekeepers do this sort of thing with surplus swarms to get people started.
If they are closed up, the hives will simply be orientation objects in the landscape as far as the bees are concerned.
I am cautious about unused equipment left lying around as they could contain diseases or harbour pests such as wasps, waxmoth, etc

 

[BrianO]

I don't think reducing the entrance will help (although that is what is usually suggested).

Do you not think it limits that initial rush out that happens when you remove entrance block meaning they come out 1 or 2 at a time maybe giving them more of a chance to get a bearing ?

 

[Cazza]

And ..(last thing) we have three empty closed hives in a row on a stand.. should we mark them with colours or will they not get disoriented on their first outing with which hive is home?

No need, especially if the others are closed.
Cazza

 

[jonnybeegood]

Brill thanks everyone , will make notes as to what to ask him when I collect and will no doubt be back on here before during and after!
On a side issue ...do I take a 'gift' to exchange for the swarm ..what is the etiquette ? (thinking a bottle of Sloe Gin?)
And ..(last thing) we have three empty closed hives in a row on a stand.. should we mark them with colours or will they not get disoriented on their first outing with which hive is home?

I would drink the bottle of sloe gin after youve hived them, & give him a bottle of wine Lol

 

[B+.]

Do you not think it limits that initial rush out that happens when you remove entrance block meaning they come out 1 or 2 at a time maybe giving them more of a chance to get a bearing ?

They will only rush out if they are hived during the day. If they are hived in the evening or on a rainy day, they will settle

 

[BeeJayBee]

So had a call last night that a beekeeper has a 'boxed swarm' that we can collect tomorrow evening (eeeeeek!!) ...

If the bees are in a cardboard box rather than in a nuc, you'll need to put them into their own hive asap. Evening is best, because they settle more quickly.

If they're in a nuc then leave them alone until you see eggs.

They will have been boxed for four days by tomorrow

They'll need feeding. Give them a light syrup, 1:1 sugar to water, to help wax building. Don't give so much that they fill every cell with syrup because the queen will need space to lay.

and leave them do their thing for a week, then you need to inspect, find clip and mark queen.

Probably not a good idea to touch the queen until you have seen eggs, then you'll know she's mated.

 

[B+.]

Probably not a good idea to touch the queen until you have seen eggs, then you'll know she's mated.

If you decide to clip the queen, this is probably a job for your mentor to do on his return from holiday. Its not the sort of job I'd recommend a beginner to do unsupervised

 

[dilsdaisy]

Update : They have arrived in a Nuc box..so we have left them in there sited where hive is...they have been out and about foraging in the garden so all good hopefully , thought we'd check on them in a week/10 days to see what's happening inside ( the man wants his box back in 12 days)
He said he wasn't a beekeeper ...'not into all that...I'm a Honeygatherer" ...and we were all done and dusted in ten mins ( refused the Sloe Gin too)

 

[jonnybeegood]

Update : They have arrived in a Nuc box..so we have left them in there sited where hive is...they have been out and about foraging in the garden so all good hopefully , thought we'd check on them in a week/10 days to see what's happening inside ( the man wants his box back in 12 days)
He said he wasn't a beekeeper ...'not into all that...I'm a Honeygatherer" ...and we were all done and dusted in ten mins ( refused the Sloe Gin too)

Have you fed them at all?