bee school weeks two and three

Some of the highlights from the last two weeks of bee school –

• • Bees need to be in full sun and facing the rising morning sun. When the sun passes beyond the hive and it goes into shadow, the bees are done working for the day. If the bees are in shade, they may not work as much.

• • Two thirds of purchased packaged bees will die before the queens new eggs start hatching. This puts the colony at a disadvantage as opposed to if the colony was purchased as a functioning nuc.

• • Only 10% of swarming hives will survive. It is mainly because old bees are in the swarm, and it will take 31 days before new worker bees are hatched and ready.

• • Cypress is the best wood for bee boxes while pine is best for frames. Pine bee boxes must be painted.

• • The standard hive setup is two deep boxes for the bees and three medium boxes for the honey.

• • It takes a frame of food to make a frame of brood.

• • A shared honey extractor is no good because it also shares disease.

• • Use as little smoke as possible when manipulating a hive.