[Kas]

I am a new beekeeper of two years and thought I would experiment with a modified warre. I got a package of bees, installed the queen, gave them a pollen patty and sugar water mixed with honey b healthy. I then left them alone. On day 6 I went to check on them and noticed bees coming and going but with no pollen. My other hives had a lot of pollen traffic. The next day (day 7) I opened the hive to find the only bees there were a few dead ones from the package. There was only a little drawn comb and it looked like they had not really touched the pollen patty. What happened? Did they swarm? Why would they if they had plenty of room and food and water? I live in Oregon and it has been very rainy and cold until day 6 and 7 when it hit high 70s. Thoughts?

 

[BernhardHeuvel]

A package is no swarm. It is a box with bees shaken into and a queen. Bees and queen are not used and bind to each other, they are just loose bees. If you install the package without closing them down for some time, they simply fly out and off the hive. The standard procedure here is to close the entrance (really bee tight!) and shake them into the hive, cover and let them sit for 2 days, (feeding necessary). Open up the entrance at the evening of the second day.

This way bees and queen get bind to each other and all goes well from there.

That may differ if the packages were travelling long distances. Travelling some days. If the packages were in the mail for days with the queen inside (some send packages with PseudoQueen/QMP and the queens are shipped outside the packages), you can install the packages with entrances open.

But if you want to make sure the package doesn't abscond, you let them settle in a closed hive. No direct release, just remove the cork/plug to expose the candy of the queen cage.

 

[Slow Drone]

Too much ventilation or too much space will cause them to abscond.Should only be using one box to start a package.Bernard is right they didn't swarm they absconded,but I knew what you meant.If you have other hives close by they probably drifted.Check your other hives one is probably heavily populated now!