What to do with new bees

[Queen Brenda]

No, don't despair with varroa. There are treatments you can use at this time of year with your honey super in situ or other treatments for a brood box only, or 'natural' methods, eg drone larva culling. Good info on fera website called 'managing varroa'.

 

[Davelin]

I've been observing quite a bit. Still haven't managed to notice any carrying pollen. Hopefully I'll see it soon.

Do you have an alighting board?

It's much easier to spot pollen if they land on the board and then amble in.

 

[Charlie19]

Yes, I've finally noticed a few carrying pollen today it's amazing to see how many different colours they bring back. I'm so tempted to have a look inside the hive but I'm resisting. When is it a good time to inspect a new colony?

 

[BeeJayBee]

It sounds as if they've been with you for more than a week, so it might be worth quickly (as quickly as you can without stressing yourself) checking the frames to make sure they're being drawn out, and you might even see eggs or young larvae. If so, it means this is a prime swarm with a mated queen.

If no eggs or larvae then it's probably best to leave them for another week or two because it could mean there was an unmated queen, and she's only just getting ready to start laying.

A quick inspection will give you a better idea of the size of the colony, and how many frames they actually need at the moment - if only a few you can use a dummy frame or two to reduce the space available to them which will help keep them warmer.

While you're thinking about books you could download a copy of "At the Hive Entrance" by Storch. Google will find it as a pdf. You might also find some of the FERA leaflets useful https://secure.fera.defra.gov.uk/beebase/index.cfm?pageid=167

 

[Charlie19]

Thanks for the advice. Time to get the bee suit out.