Installing Two Packages in Rabun County
I put the packages in hives with a mix of old comb from foundationless frames from last year and new foundationless frames with wax strips.
These packages were so difficult to work with for four reasons:
- The packages themselves were put together with screen wire that extended past the edges of the wood in a sharp row of extensions of wire. I was working bare-handed and really tore up my arms and hands on these edges
- The queen cage had this circle of aluminum over the cork at the candy end. It was too thick a material to put a thumb tack through. This presented a challenge in determining how to secure the cage in the hive.
- The syrup container was located as it usually is but instead of being in a circle cut out to fit the can, there was an extension opening between the syrup can and the queen cage, so while I’m trying to lift the syrup container and get the queen cage, bees are coming out of the opening and crawling all over the place.
- The cover over the syrup can and queen cage wasn’t simply stapled in but rather was nailed with a 1 1/4 inch nail – hard, hard to pry up with the hive tool.
The problem with duct tape is that bees can stick to it.
So on the 8 frame installation, I taped the duct tape to the top of the can and then made a handle that was stuck to itself (no exposed sticky surfaces). So no bee deaths the second try.
I’m going back to the Rabun County Garden on Thursday to see if the queen is released and if they are doing well.
I felt pretty good about this installation. I remembered how to handle the feed and put it OVER the inner cover. I was worried because there was a little space between the upper box on the 8 frame hive and the 10 frame inner cover, so I put an upside down frame there temporarily to block the opening. I didn’t want to create a side opening in the hive. When I come back, I’ll have the right sized inner cover.
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