[njlynch1925]

I installed two package bee sets into their hives yesterday and am seeing a huge difference in activity between the two hives. one has about two dozen bees in and around the entrance at any given time while the other has periods of time with nothing coming in or out. I have noticed both hives do have bees bringing in pollen already. but my concern is the lack of activity in the second hive. Is this normal? could have the bees from the second hive grouped with the first hive?

 

[bison]

First of all, relax! It's only been one day and lots can happen in such a short period. Remember that package bees have been through an awful lot before they get to you. Everything is probably fine. Have you peeked inside the hive at all? If so, are there still lots of bees inside? If so, don't worry about it, give them a couple more days then look inside to make sure the queen has escaped. If you haven't looked inside, just wait the same two more days. It is possible that the bees abandoned the hive (particularly if the queen was dead for some reason), if so there's nothing you can do about it.

It is good that you're noticing the difference between the two hives. Lack of activity is often the best indicator of a problem (mites/disease/queenless).

Best thing to do now is not to worry much, just wait it out and see what happens in a couple days.

 

[captwillie]

The good thing about having two hives is if something happens to one you still have resources to pull from. Keep watching and check in on them in a couple days if you think there is a problem. Did you direct release your queen or is she still caged? Were the two hives spaced apart or next to each other? Good luck.
Willie
Vicksburg Mi

 

[GOHoney]

bison has good advice. I have went through 6 package installs this year. Four of which I just verified the queen release today. Some days I see different activity from each hive that makes me think something may be up. After the queen check today all look great with no problems I can see.
Though I am a second year and still learning. Very happy with my six so far.

 

[njlynch1925]

I put the queen cages in at the top of the hive both queens where alive and well. pulled the cork on the candy end and inserted into the center of the hive. I have hive top feeders installed on both hives I did lift the cover and peeked into the the gap between the hive top feeder sections and it seemed to have a lot of bees inside in the brood box and in the feeder. I took it as a good sign also that they where bringing in pollen to both hives. am I right or would they do this even if the queen was dead? and the hives are spaced about 5 feet apart.

 

[njlynch1925]

looking threw another post I think i may have had a drift issue with screened bottom boards an slated stand. as the hive with all the bee activity was the first one installed. ant that queens pheramones may have drifted and caused the bees to enter that hive as I did notice a lot more bees around that hive from the start. I will know more in a few days when I look to see if the queens are out of there cage. the other post said I may have to swap locations of the hives a day or so to get the balance back or swap brood frames. and I have marked queens to help make sure I do not move her by mistake. which do you think would be best

 

[bison]

Your enthusiasm is admirable... but patience is a virtue when beekeeping! Seems like you're overthinking this. It sounds like both installations went just fine. Relax and let the bees do their thing. Very often (as here) the best thing to do is nothing and let the bees figure it all out. The less you mess with them as they're getting going the better.

 

[njlynch1925]

I understand I must be patient, today I just opened the outer cover to check on the top feeders the amount of buzzing from the hive with all the action was loud enough to hear away from the box. the other one even with my ear to the box did not hear much. and now our weather is dropping and furcasted to be lows in the high 30's just hope there is enough bees in the box to ball up and keep the queen alive. and the highs are to be in the low 60's should I wait to see if the queens are released until the weather gets warm or will 60's be ok? and if I do check should I just remove the queen cage and slide the frames in not looking them over until better weather?

 

[bison]

Dont worry about the cold at night. Cold won't kill bees, wet will. 60's is fine to open the hive, particularly when they don't have brood to keep warm. If you're worried, go ahead and open the hives and see if the queen has been released. If the cages are empty, the queens are out, but they may be impossible to find if you're not used to doing so. It's fine to remove the frames one by one and look though. If there was a problem with the one hive's queen she'd probably be dead in her cage. If so, you'll need to get a replacement queen in a hurry (or a frame of eggs from another beekeeper).

 

[njlynch1925]

Ok great. Ill wait a few more days I think. To check. I did get marked queens to help me find her.

 

[njlynch1925]

Ok inspected the hivs queens where not released yet but very very close. So I released them. I did get drifting, hive one had a bit more bees. So there is no brood yet and wounder if I should swap hives , drop a fram of bees from the heavy hive into the weeker one (making sure queen is not on the frame) . Or put a deep ontop of the feeder with newspaper in between and drop bees in and give them time to chew threw and use to the queen. Or do nothng at all and hope the hive catches up . Also noticed SHB only saw two outside the hive. That was quick killed them. Going to make traps and install on next inspection in a week

 

[bison]

Again, calm down and let the bees do their thing! If the queens hadnt been released yet of course there won't be any brood. The queens can take a week or so AFTER release to start laying, and then you might not be able to see the eggs for a coupld days until they are bigger larvae. If there are enough bees (sounds like there are) and good queens (again the case) stop worrying and leave them alone for two weeks. All you should do to help them is feed, otherwise you'll be doing more harm than good. You'll learn that the best way to keep bees is to do as little as possible. They do a remarkably good job of taking care of themselves.

 

[njlynch1925]

Thank you all for your help . I am calm just trying to be proactive and head issues off before they happen. I know there are no brood and figured that maybe a good time to try and balance the hives out when there both broodless. And was cincerned with having a smaller population in one hive which may lead to and was trying to head of robbing and a SHB explosion before it happens and also have two goid hive instead if ine great and one week hive. And yes being a newbee I understand I should kinda just let things play out a bit but also want to try and head issues off before they become bigger issues and harder to deal with. And hopping my lack of experience doesnt cost me big. So once again thanks for the help very much appreciated