Re: g) How do you install a package?
I'd like to preface this with the fact that I'm a completely inexperienced bee-keeper. (installed my first package 2 days ago). However, it struck me that this thread is lacking some of the 'gotchas' that I read elsewhere, heard from experienced bee-keepers, or collected from other threads in other forums on this site, etc... specifically related to installing packages in TBH's and in colder climates / colder weather. Most of the directions in here seem aimed at installations in warmer weather / warmer climates, and there doesn't seem to be a lot of comments on 'preparing the hive prior to installation'. I've seen a lot of 'what happened' threads lately that seem related to not having some of these things in place....
Most of these are not MY wisdom... but other bee-keeper's wisdom that I'm collating and repeating here. Feel free to add / disagree! I am no expert..
1. The biggest concerns in cold / inclement weather seem to be freezing or starving bees (or starving bees freezing because they starve). So most of your preparation should be aimed at improving their ability to meet THEIR priorities, which are:
a) keeping the queen alive
b) keeping brood alive
c) keeping the rest of the package alive
Typically the queen is hung a bit below the top of the frame, or, in a TBH, below the bar a bit. Bees will naturally cluster around the queen, towards the top 1/3 of the comb / frame area. Make it easy for them to keep the queen alive. Putting the queen on the floor is a death sentence.
There is no substitute for drawn comb in any weather for a new install, but particularly in cold weather. Not only will they pack it full of syrup if it's available, but they'll climb into it and cluster tighter and have an easier time keeping warm / alive. Plus, in any package, having drawn comb lets the bees store pollen / syrup and have laying space available immediately when the queen is released - seems to jump start them. Talk to your local beekeepers.. for my TBH I cut some down from a lang frame and wired in.
I'd really resist putting a package in with brood in really bad weather. They will keep the brood alive at the expense of all the bees in the package, and will struggle to survive.
In colder (below 35-40f / 10C) weather, if the duration of the poor weather is short (a couple of days) the best reccomendation I've seen is to keep the package in a cool garage, in the dark, and install on a nicer afternoon. It improves the survival rate significantly.
Feed. Remember, below 55F (15c) they have trouble feeding from syrup, below 40, they usually can't / won't. You may have to warm the syrup once a day for them to survive. Depending on your hive, in-hive feeding may be possible for you and is reccomended if it is (frame feeder best, bag ok but problematic for many and can cause flooding / death).
DO NOT SPRAY YOUR BEES WITH SYRUP in cold temperatures prior to installing. Cold bees are cold. Wet cold bees are dead bees. They often can't clean / dry well enough to survive as the temperature falls overnight.
DO provide pollen patties - in Lang, hang the queen in the center of the box, dump bees right on top of her, put a pollen patty directly on top of that. In TBH, in the same bar section you hung the queen so the cluster can feed without leaving her as syrup may not be avail. nearby
Insulation is good - I've seen several people's reccomendations, but in a lang, insulated floor, insulation panels replacing the outer 4 frames, insulated roof seems to work well.
Ventilation - use a reducer, particularly with cold winds expected. In TBH, plug spare holes loosely with grass, let them decide whether to unblock or not. Top ventilation reccomended to prevent condensation in all hive setups - cold wet bees are dead bees. do NOT wrap with plastic - plastic traps moisture. Tarps, blankets, breathable items ok, as long as the ventilation is unblocked.