This is my third hour of owning bees I just installed a five frame NUC. After watching videos and reading about it I thought I was rather successful. But I do wonder what is an acceptable amount of bees that don't make it into the super or new hive. I thought I used enough smoke to keep them down. After I closed it all up it seemed that there hundred or so that didn't make it into the hive box. And what happens to them?
>> After I closed it all up it seemed that there hundred or so that didn't make it into the hive box.
I'm not exactly clear what "closed it up" means. If you mean that the entrance is blocked off, I wouldn't do that. The bees that are outside likely will join their comrades if the entrance is open. Besides that, they need ventilation inside the hive.
Shake the bees on the entrance board of the hive and hopefully there is enough scent to attract them in before they get too stiff and cold. Leaving them in the old box often results in a dead little knot of bees who don't know where home is or where everyone went. You can't worry about every single bee, but do the best you can. Good luck.
Entrance feeders are cheap, and convenient, but not the best choice. Do what you have to do to make the entrance open to the bees. If you can't make the reducer work, a piece of scrap wood can serve as an alternative.
While that post doesn't mention an inner cover, see if your feeder jar will fit and be supported by the hole in in the inner cover. The jar needs to have "bee space" underneath it so the bees can get to the holes in the lid.
The point of doing this is to avoid having the entrance feeder attract "robber bees" from elsewhere outside the hive.
Ok my bee friends I just went out to remove the reducers. It seems I had a little help from my chicken friends as I found the reducer and feeder on the ground. It was a simple matter of place the feeder in and replacing the sugar water. Thank you for the quick replies!
Welcome to Beesource. It sounds like you will enjoy your new bees. Hope that it goes well for you.
You left over bees will be welcomed into the new hive if healthy or may not figure out where it is... Very normal. Don't sweat the small stuff.
Good for you. Keep it going and watch out for those chickens.
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