How many bees should I put in a new hive it is two deep and two med frames is one pound enough?
How many bees should I put in a new hive it is two deep and two med frames is one pound enough?
Do you have drawn comb? Do you have brood? Are you just talking about doing an install in November/December? Or are you talking about doing one in the spring?
This time of year, I would put as many as you could fit in there (reasonably). In the spring, I would suggest 1.5 to 2 lbs of bees, at the least.
Two (deep) frames of honey/pollen/brood and adhering bees, two (medium) frames of food, and about three shakes of additional bees would be fine, I would imagine.
It is going to be new foundation I am going to wait till spring
try..
I have an ob. hive that is 1 deep plus 3 medium frames.
1 to 1 1/2 pounds of bees is plenty in the spring and summer, even if they have to make their own queen. Adding more bees just means that they will fill the hive to "overfull" faster.
Charlie
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