Glossary
The process of transferring a purchased package of honey bees (typically 3 pounds, or approximately 10,000 bees, plus a separately caged queen) into a prepared hive to establish a new colony. Package bee installation is one of the most common ways new beekeepers start their first hive.
Before your bees arrive, your hive equipment should be fully assembled and placed in its permanent location. The hive should include a bottom board, one brood box with frames (foundation or drawn comb), a feeder with sugar syrup, an inner cover, and an outer cover. Having drawn comb from a previous colony accelerates colony establishment significantly.
Package bees are typically shipped or picked up in early spring, timed so the colony has a full growing season ahead. The bees travel in a screened wooden box with a can of sugar syrup for food during transit. The queen is in a small cage inside the package, separated from the workers because they are not yet her colony; they need time to accept her.
The basic installation process takes about 15 minutes. Remove several frames from the center of the brood box to create space. Spray the bees in the package with light sugar syrup to calm them and reduce flying. Remove the queen cage and check that the queen is alive. Suspend the queen cage between two frames with the candy plug facing down.
Then, gently shake the bees from the package into the open space in the brood box. Replace the frames, close the hive, and install the syrup feeder. The bees will begin clustering around the queen cage and eating through the candy plug over the next 2 to 3 days, by which time they will have accepted her pheromone as their own. Do not open the hive for at least 5 to 7 days after installation.
A package colony installed in spring typically takes the entire first season to build up a strong population and draw comb. Most new colonies do not produce surplus honey in their first year. By the second spring, an established colony from a package can begin producing surplus.
No. Always use the slow-release method (candy plug in the queen cage). The workers need 2 to 3 days to accept the queen's pheromone. Direct-releasing an unaccepted queen can result in the workers killing her.
Feed sugar syrup (1:1 ratio of sugar to water in spring) continuously until the bees stop taking it, which usually indicates a natural nectar flow has started. New packages need significant feeding to draw comb and establish brood. A typical package may consume 1 to 2 gallons per week initially.
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