[Organist]

Hi,

Last weekend I discovered I had a dead queen from one of my packages. I bought a new queen and installed on Tues. I checked in on Wed., but she had not been released yet. I looked in today, and she has been released. I found her going about her queen business on one of the frames today, and evidence of egg laying.

I'm impressed with how much bees clean up. In the cages where the queen was released, every bit if candy is gone. They're not content to eat through just enough to let her out. They take out every bit.

I bought marked queens, and they really jump out when looked at the frames, but I wonder if I will get used to identifying queens without a mark. I was thinking today if she didn't have that mark, I most likely wouldn't have recognized her.

Best wishes,
Mike

 

[umchuck]

hey mike, would the guy you bought the queen from mind if you told us where you got it?

 

[Organist]

Oh, probably not. That's his business, so it's free advertising...

I got my stuff from Waldo Apiaries. The website says they have queens available until the 28th. The guy who runs the place seems a bit eccentric. At the time I ordered, it was the closest place I could find to me. After placing my order, and paying for it, I found another place nearly in my backyard. I could have gotten everything there. Live and learn. Still, it was a nice drive down. I went to college in that part of the state, and it was nice to revisit my old stomping grounds from the 80's.

The day I got the bees was interesting. I figured there's be a few cars there, and that would be it. I had no idea what a big event picking up bees could be. There were loads of people with cars filling the parking lot and up and down both sides of the road. It looked like an auction.

I can't complain about anything as of yet. Everything seems fine so far. Only the dead queen episode, and that was my own fault. I wonder though if the hive measurements are a little off. They fit together well (10 frame Langstroth), but the entrance reducers I had needed to be trimmed down about a half inch to fit.

I'm going to get some more wooden ware this summer and put it together and paint it up for future use. I got lots of room for more hives.

Best wishes,
Mike

 

[umchuck]

yea, know what you mean, I started with a nuc, have 3 hives right now and will have 5 in a wk. I set up for 6 hives, and that's going to be it ! and you can build your wooden ware in about 1 hr for a deep with little shop experience.