Buying Established Colonies
Nucleus Colonies
Package Bees
Collecting Swarms
Queens, package bees and Nuclei

Buying Established Colonies Purchasing established colonies is often done by experienced beekeepers, but it is not recommended for beginners. Problems associated with buying used equipment and bees include determining the true market value, the potential of picking up disease, and getting equipment that is highly variable in condition and possibly not of standard dimensions.

While financial returns from an established colony are realized in the first season, beginners usually are not ready to manage a full-strength colony. Purchasing a small unit, either package or nuc, in the spring allows the beginner's Beekeeping skills to develop as the colony size increases during the season.

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Nucleus Colonies
A nucleus colony, or nuc, is essentially a miniature hive consisting of bees in all stages of development, as well as food, a laying queen, and enough workers to cover from three to five combs. When placed into a full-sized hive body and given supplemental feeding, the nuc usually expands rapidly into a strong colony. Frequently these hives produce surplus honey in their first year. The obvious advantages of starting a hive with a nuc rather than a package are: the faster rate of development due to the presence of brood and no break in the queen's laying cycle; ease of establishing the unit in your own equipment; and a chance to see the nuc before purchasing it. Sales of nucs have increased tremendously over the past few years and are making inroads into the well-established package bee businesses.

While nucleus colonies are initially more expensive than packages, often their financial re turns at season's end more than make up for purchase price differences. The biggest disadvantage in purchasing a nuc is the potential of disease transmission. Even though inspection and certification of nucs are either recommended (intrastate movement) or required (interstate movement), disease can still break out among some nucleus colonies soon after they are purchased. Bees which have been fed antibiotic drugs may appear healthy at the time of inspection, but the combs may be contaminated with disease-causing organisms. If the buyer does not continue the drug feeding program, it will be only a matter of time until the disease is seen.

The strength of nucs varies a great deal from source to source for an equal number of frames. Population differences are partly due to how long the nuc has been made up and partly to the industry's lack of well-defined guidelines for making up nucs. One beekeeper may provide one frame of brood in a five-frame nuc, while another will provide three. Before purchasing nucs, be sure that their price reflects the strength of the nucleus colonies.

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Package Bees
Package bees are produced in the southern states and California for shipping to northern beekeepers who wish to strengthen weak colonies or develop new colonies in the spring. Packages are available in either 2-, 3-, 4-, or 5-pound sizes. The most popular packages used in Pennsylvania are the 2- and 3-pound sizes. Each pound represents about thirty-five hundred bees. A queen is included in those packages to be used for developing new colonies. Packages intended for strengthening weak colonies may be ordered with or without a queen.

Packages should be ordered in January or February to ensure timely delivery. If packages are to be installed on drawn combs containing honey and pollen, they should arrive in early April; if they are to be installed on comb foundation, they should arrive in late April or early May. Beekeepers in northern Pennsylvania may need to delay shipments for a couple of weeks. Package bees often die if installed on foundation in cold weather. Temperatures below 57°F will not allow bees to break cluster and move to feeders for syrup. Bees clustered on combs of honey, on the other hand, do not have to break cluster in order to eat.

Standard wooden shipping cages measure about 6 x 10 x 16 inches, with wire screen on the long sides for ventilation. A number three can containing a food supply of 50 percent sugar syrup is suspended from the top of the cage. A few small holes are made in the bottom of the can through which the bees feed. A young mated queen is housed in a separate cage that is suspended at the top of the package next to the feeder can. Two or three worker bees (attendants) commonly are caged with the queen to care for her. Queen cages usually are supplied with a food source of sugar candy. Packages are braced about a foot apart to protect them from crowding and overheating during shipping.

The best way to get packages is to obtain them from a beekeeper or supply dealer who has a truck going south to bring back a load. Otherwise, packages will be shipped by parcel post. The beekeeper should alert officials at the post office about the expected date of arrival and should request immediate notification.

Upon arrival, package bees should be inspected for unusual numbers of dead bees. Some bee mortality is normal but when dead bees accumulate more than 1/2 inch in the bottom of the shipping cage or when queens are received dead, a damage claim should be tiled with the postal clerk immediately, noting their condition. This statement should then be sent to the shipper so that losses may be replaced.

Package bees are perishable, so handle them with care and protect them from wind and cold when taking them home. If packages arrive when the temperature is below 45°F, cover them with burlap or paper while in transit. if transported in a closed truck or car, no extra protection is needed.

You should try to install packages as soon as they arrive, although you can delay installation for up to forty-eight hours with little difficulty. Feed the bees as soon as you get them home and before installing them. Spray or sprinkle the cage screen with 50 percent sugar syrup, preferably in a room where the temperature is around 70°F. Avoid brushing the syrup onto the screen, as this may injure the After feeding the bees, store them in a cool, dry, and preferably dark place, such as a basement, porch, or garage. Storage temperature should be around 50° to 60°F. The bees will recluster around their queen and become quiet. Package bees soon die if they are stored where the temperature is above 80°F, or if they are left standing in the sun. Be sure that there are no Vapona® impregnated strips near the stored packages.

Before the packages arrive, your hives should be assembled, in place, and ready to receive them. Package bees should be installed in late afternoon or early evening, when there is little opportunity for flight. On cool days, package bees may be put into hives at any time. If the bees are well fed, they are much easier to install.

Start by opening the empty hive, and remove six consecutive combs. Insert the entrance reducer so as to provide the smallest opening. Then close the entrance completely by placing some green grass in the small opening. (See Figure 9.) This will keep the bees in the hive until they settle down and remove the grass. Do not plug the entrance tightly with dry grass because the bees will not be able to remove it and may die in the hive.

Figure 9. A full depth hive body ready to receive a package of bees. Six combs have been removed and the entrance closed with an entrance reducer and green grass.

There are several different ways to install or transfer the bees from the mailing cage to the hive. One method is to place the mailing cage in the open space left after removing the six frames, allowing the bees to exit by themselves to join the queen. The first step in this type of installation is to remove the square piece of wood that covers the feeder can. Set the cage into the hive and quickly remove the feeder can. The queen cage attached near the feeder can should also be removed and checked to make sure the queen is alive. Remove the cork or any other covering from the candy end of the queen cage and make a small hole through the candy using either a nail or a match stick. (See Figure 10.) Do not injure the queen. The hole should be small enough to prevent the bees from coming out immediately, but large enough so the bees can release their queen in twenty-four to forty-eight hours. Wedge the queen cage between the top bars of the two combs next to the mailing cage. Place the queen cage with the candy end up, so that any worker bees within the cage that die prior to the queen's release will not block the exit hole. Bees should have maximum access to the screen face of the queen's cage so that they can feed her and receive her chemicals. Shake about a handful or two of bees around the queen cage to expedite movement of the bees from the package to the combs. During cool weather, shake more bees on the queen cage to prevent the queen from becoming chilled. The empty mailing and queen cages should be removed in four to five days.

Figure 10. Remove cork from queen cage as you prepare to introduce a new queen to a colony.

A more popular way to install packages is direct release. Prepare the hive as described previously. Just before opening the package, sprinkle both sides of the screened shipping cage with sugar syrup so the bees wings become wet. (See Figure 11.) Knock the bees to the bottom of the cage by jarring the package against the ground or hive. As you remove the feeder can, sprinkle the bees again. (See figure 12.) Do not overdo the sprinkling in cool weather. Remove the queen cage, inspect the queen, and place the cage in your shirt pocket. Gently dump the bees out of the package into the open space left by the removal of the six frames. (See figure13.) While the bees fall out fairly readily, you still should jar the package against the ground two or three times to bring the remaining bees to one corner of the package. Then shake the remaining bees into the hive. If the bees' wings are damp with syrup, there will be little flying. Leave the mailing cage beside the hive overnight so any remaining bees can escape. Place the feeder can hole of the cage beside the entrance, touching the bottom board. With the hive tool, gently level the pile of bees on the bottom board. You may directly release queens that have traveled with the package or let the worker bees chew through the candy plug and release her as described previously. Prior to direct release, sprinkle a little syrup on the queen through the queen cage screen. Next, lower the queen cage into the hive close to one of the exposed combs. Remove the screen with your hive tool and let the queen run onto the comb or among the bees. Carefully replace the previously removed combs to avoid injuring the bees and the queen.

Figure 11. Sprinkle bees with sugar syrup or water before you open the package of bees. (Photo by W.W.Clarke, Jr.)

Figure 12. Remove feeder can and queen cage

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One of the most important considerations in developing a strong colony from a package is to supply plenty of food at all times. Unless the combs in the hive contain sufficient honey and pollen, you must feed the bees immediately upon installation. There are several efficient ways of feeding sugar syrup to your colonies.

Figure 13. Shake the bees into the hive and replace the frames

Figure 14. Sugar syrup is introduced and the frames have been replaced

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One of the easiest methods of getting food to your packages is to invert a feeder can or plastic jar over the hole in the inner cover. You can make this feeder by punching ten to fifteen small nail holes in the lid of the jar or can. Surround the feeder with an empty hive body and replace the outer cover. Leave the hive alone for at least five days, except to refill the feeder as needed. After seven to nine days, examine the hive briefly to see if the queen is accepted and laying. Use only a little smoke and handle the bees and equipment gently. If either the shipping or queen cage remain in the colony, you should remove it at this trine. Check a frame or two for eggs and larvae. If you find a colony without a queen you should give it another queen without delay to avoid losing the entire colony. If it is impossible to obtain a new queen immediately, the only practical recourse is to combine the package with a queenright package or colony.

Package bees also can be installed over a double screen on top of an established strong colony. The warmth of the lower and supporting colony improves colony development. Hive the package by the direct release procedure and provide an entrance to the rear of the colony.

During the first twenty-one days after installation, a package bee colony experiences about a 35 percent loss in population. This loss occurs because workers require twenty-one days to develop from eggs, during which time the older bees of the population die. after this period, the rate of emergence of young workers begins to exceed the rate of death of older bees and the population grows. About four weeks after installation the population is completely restored. To compensate for the initial shrinkage in package bee colony size, beekeepers should try to give each package a frame or two of capped brood. The capped brood helps increase the population of young bees and stimulates growth of the colony. The major objection to giving package bees brood is the possibility of spreading disease to the new unit.

Newly hived package bees are very susceptible to nosema disease, which often leads to queen supersedure or queenlessness. Feeding fumagillin medicated syrup to newly installed packages is highly recommended. (See "Nosema Disease.") About one and a half to two months after installation, when the package bee colony requires additional space, you should place a super of frames on top of the brood chamber.

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Collecting Swarms
Collecting honey bee swarms in the spring is an excellent way to replace winter losses, strengthen weak colonies, or start new ones. Primary swarms are valuable; they may get as many as twenty-five thousand bees plus the queen. In comparison, a 3-pound package will give you approximately ten thousand five hundred bees. Three considerations to keep in mind before attempting to collect a swarm are how long the swarm has been there, where the swarm is located, and how big it is.

Swarms normally cluster on a tree limb, shrub, fence post, or on the side of a building. When possible, cut down the swarm gently and put it directly into a hive or enclosed container to transport it to a new hive or location. If the swarm cannot be cut down, either shake or scrape the bees into a lightweight box. When a swarm settles in a very high tree, or on any other inaccessible structure, it is best to leave it there since it is often an after swarm with a virgin queen. Sometimes you can knock these high swarms into a bucket at the end of a long pole. The success rate, however, is very low.

Introduce the swarm into your own equipment by either shaking or dumping the bees into an open hive or in front of it. (See Figure 15.) If you were successful in getting the queen with the rest of the swarm, the bees will enter the hive and make themselves at home. It is better to use drawn combs than foundation when introducing swarms.

Figure 15. Swarm of honey bees that has been shaken in front of the hive. (Photo by W. W. Clarke, Jr.)

Taking Bees out of Trees and Walls of Buildings. Honey bee colonies and their combs can be transferred from a tree or wall into a hive. In many situations the beekeeper is providing a service and should charge for it. Because of the amount of work involved and the difficulty of obtaining good combs, you should avoid this method of obtaining bees unless you have no other alternative. The best way of removing a colony from a wall is to remove the siding or other exterior coverings to expose the colony. Then the combs and bees can be cut and brushed or vacuumed from the interior of the wall.

If it is impossible to expose the colony, you may proceed to trap the majority of the bees out of the tree or wall. The first step in trapping bees is to dose up all flight holes except one. Place over the open flight hole a cone of screen about 6 inches long, with an opening 1/4 inch to 3/8 inch in diameter at the apex. Near the flight hole place a weak hive consisting of two or three frames of brood and bees with a queen or queen cell. In principle, the bees from the colony in the wall can leave freely through the screen cone but cannot return to the old nest, so they will enter the new hive prepared for them. It will take about a month for the brood in the old combs to hatch. By this time, most of the bees will be in the new hive. Keep in mind that it is impossible to trap out all of the bees or the queen.

After most activity from the old hive has ceased, remove the screen cone and leave the new hive in position for a week or longer. If no honey flow is in progress, the bees from the strong hive will rob out the old combs in the wall or tree. After the robbing has ceased, seal off the entrance to the old nest so that future swarms cannot establish themselves in the same location.

The hive on the platform should be removed in the evening when all the bees are inside. To avoid the possibility of the hive bees returning to their original location, move the hive at least three miles away.

Related Topics:
Queen and Package Bee Suppliers
Queens, package bees and Nuclei