Beekeeper 1 cover - Connecticut

1 This Publication is aCooperative Project of the Connecticut beekeepers Association and the State Entomologist's Office New Haven, CT. 06504 CONNECTICUTBEEKEEPING#1 STARTING WITH BEESPAGE 1 Connecticut BEEKEEPINGSTARTING BEEKEEPINGGETTING BEESI ntroduction -This series contains two types of instruction, basic beekeepingpractices (pamphlet #1) to get you started, and detailed instructionon parasites and diseases (pamphlet #2). The reasoning behind thestrategy is as follows. We want to have a pamphlet to get thebeginning Beekeeper started with his or her bees, but one isexpected to have no success if there is no knowledge on how tocontrol mite infestations.

2 Tracheal mites first appeared in Con-necticut in the fall of 1989. Varroa mites appeared almost exactlya year later (fall 1990). We are still learning how to best deal withthe mites, and as yet, there is almost nothing published in books tohelp the new Beekeeper learn how to control them. In fact it maybe some time yet before the best methods of managing with mitesbecome apparent for Connecticut bees, like house pets and farm animals, need our care todo well and produce a surplus honey crop. The relationshipbetween human beings and honey bees goes back many thousandsof years. During that time, the honey bee, unlike most domesticfarm animals, has changed very little.

3 It is superbly adapted for thetask of gathering nectar to produce honey, and gathering pollen forprotein to raise new bees. Often people who have no intention ofbecoming beekeepers will watch a colony of bees at their labors forhours. As an experienced Beekeeper , you will be able to watch theirlabors at close hand and reap the profit of golden honey made byYOUR bees, from flowers in your Equipment -As a novice Beekeeper , you willneed the following equipment toget started:1.) Hive, consisting of a bottomboard, brood chamber, 10 frameswith foundation installed, innercover, and telescoping cover . Dur-ing the first year you will have toadd another brood chamber withframes and foundation, and pos-sibly a honey super with framesand ) Smoker3.

4 Hive tool4.) Bee veil5.) Bee gloves6.) Bee suitAlthough experienced beekeep-ers may not always use glovesand a full suit, it is highly suggested for beginners. Also, ifproblems occur you can be fully protected. Even experiencedbeekeepers keep a full set of protective gear for and desirable equipment includes: queen excluders, beeescapes, and feeder first bees can be purchased from bee breeders who supplypackages and nucs or obtained as a wild swarm. It should be keptin mind that both wild and purchased bees can have parasites and/or diseases so preventive measures should be taken. Also, theremay be quarantines in place you should be aware of.

5 Check withthe State Entomologist s Office for the current regulations and anyother problems you should be aware of. Also, your beekeeperassociation can be a good source for YOUR BEESI nstalling packages -A package of bees consists of a screened box of bees with a tincan feeder and a queen in a separate cage. It is not unusual to findup to an inch of dead bees in the bottom of the package. Often theyhave spent 2 to 4 days in transit and the older bees have ) Set up the hive in its permanent location. This should be wherethere is good air drainage and protection from the harsh north windsof winter. The hive entrance should face south or east to catch themorning sun and also to protect the entrance in the Package of Bees2.

6 Put your bee suit on, take the bees, smoker, and hive tool tothe hive. If early in the spring, prepare some sugar syrup to feed thebees since it may a few days before they can get out to forage shouldthe weather turn ) Light your smoker and get a good fire in it so that it will beready for use later. Lift the cover on the package using your hivetool. This will expose the tin can of sugar syrup which fed the beesin transit and the queen cage. Now, soundly hit the package on theground to settle the bees to the bottom of the package so that thequeen cage can be removed without many bees escaping. Immedi-ately after removing the queen cage put the cover on the packagePAGE 2 Connecticut BEEKEEPINGso the bees do not escape.

7 The best way of doing this is to put thecover on the package upside down. The object is to prevent the beesfrom coming out of the hole where the queen cage was ) Push aside any bees clinging to the queen cage to examine itfor the queen. Be sure she is alive. If not, seek out a replacementqueen before installing the package. The exception to this is whenit will be several days before a replacement queen can be the cork from the queen cage at the CANDY END. Thepurpose of the candy is to restrict the queen from escaping for 3 -4 days while the bees continue getting used to the new queen andtheir new home. Next, install the queen cage with the CANDYEND UP between the 5th and 6th frames near the top and center ofthe frames.

8 A small string or piece of wire can be used to hold thecage in place. The screen on the queen cage should NOT be facingthe foundation; it should face the entrance of the hive so that thebees have access to the queen to feed ) Now, a couple of handfuls of bees can be dumped on top ofthe frames in the hive above the queen, and the inner cover gentlyplaced on top so as not to crush any bees. Your smoker can be usedto persuade the bees to move down around the queen before puttingon the inner cover . Once the inner cover is on put on the ) Finally, dump as many of the bees, as can be shaken out, infront of the hive as close to the entrance as possible. Soon, the beeswill start to march into the hive.

9 The package should be left closeto the entrance with the opening up. After a couple of hours theremaining bees will enter the ) It is always advisable to put a feeder for sugar syrup on a newhive. Early in the spring, when bees may not forage for a few days,it is mandatory. If possible, pollen or pollen substitute is alsobeneficial. (See Feeding Bees)Installing Nucs -Installing nucs is far simpler than installing packages. This canmake the purchase of a nuc a wise investment for the beginningbeekeeper. A nuc has a mated queen with a frame or two of herbrood and a couple of frames of honey and pollen to feed on if theweather turns foul for a few days after installation.

10 The quality ofa nuc can vary with the supplier but gets going faster than a packagesince new bees start hatching right away. Since a nuc comes with4 or 5 drawn combs this also helps get the colony going faster. Thisis in contrast to a package of bees where population decreases for21 days or more until new bees start ) Set up the hive as with package ) Suit up and light your ) Transfer the frames from the nuc to your hive being careful notto injure the ) Gently smoke the bees down into the frames and install theinner and telescoping ) Dump any remaining bees, from the nuc, in front of the hiveas close to the entrance as ) Install a feeder and pollen substitute as insurance, although itis not always necessary since the nucleus colony already has storesin the frames.