Thanks for all the advice. We received over 1300 packages last night at our local bees supply and the high today is going to be 46 degrees. Below is the advice I gave our local bee club members.
To those installing packages,
Last night Simpsons received their package bee shipment and many customers waited in line to get their bees. It was estimated that over 800 packages were picked up and there are more being pick up today. The quality of the bees is excellent with very few dead bees in the bottom of the cages.
There was a lot of discussion about installation last night and I want to go through it here. IF you are going to try to install today it is a little risky due to the low temperatures. The high this after noon is going to be between 3 and 6 pm and only around 45 degrees. After much discussion with Carlton and Bev you might be better off to wait to install until Thursday when the temperature will be in the 60s.
If you install today then the best option is to install on drawn comb with stores already available that the bees can cluster around. The overnight temps are going to be 34 degrees and it will be hard for the bees to get to the feeder and back from the cluster; and on bare foundation this could be a recipe for starvation and heavy bee loss. Also you might want to keep your empty box and frames in a warm house until just before the installation so that the stores in the drawn comb is warm and the bees don’t have to try and warm it from 30 some degrees.
If installing on bare foundation (new un-drawn) your best option is to wait until warmer weather. If you do install today then the best option might be to put the can they came with on the top bars so they can cluster around it and continue to feed and use an empty super around it. Also a zip lock bag filled with sugar water and a few 1 inch slits on top, laid on the top bars, could be a good feeding method. Don’t need to fill the zip lock completely full. You could also spray some sugar water on the frames. All this is risky.
One other thing that will help is to lightly mist the outside of the packages before installation with sugar water. Do this multiple times until the bees stop taking it. This will fill their stomachs and help them get their initial start. Don’t get them wet.
The sugar water mixes we are using here is 1:1. One cup sugar to one cup water, or, one pound of sugar to one pound of water
Hope this helps.
Good Luck,