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OK, time is approaching. My bees are due in mid April, and I have a bee hive. I have it set up with 2 deep boxes with frames, bottom, inside top board and top. When I am putting my package bees into the hive, do I just use the bottom deep or leave both on there. I have read a lot but this has not been addressed, anywhere that I have read. I have read to have the top box empty of frames with the inside board under it with a feeder on top, but not how many with frames. Some also say to feed outside instead of inside.
Another question is do Y'all buy your boxes or build them? Boxes are not too expensive, but the shipping is, and I have not found any local that I could go get.
Another question is whether I need to smoke my hive before the bees get here? It has been set up for a while and something could have move in without bees to guard it. miles

I'm in the same boat only getting nucs on April 22. No need to smoke. Just open it up the day before you get them and make sure a mouse hasn't moved in. If you caught a swarm prior, good. You'll just need to scramble to get another hive.

I assume you have frames with foundation? If so you'll need to pull the center 4-5 of them before shaking the bee into the hive. Then carefully place them back in and install the queen cage. Do a youtube search on on installing package bees with the queen. You don't want to just let the queen go. You want to let the workers eat the fondant plug. That allows time for them to get her pheromones and not kill her.

I'm just going to put the single brood on first (deep because the nucs are in deep frames. Then after they've settled in for a week or so and are drawing comb on the frams in the side, I'll add mediums to the top. Eventually I'd like move to all mediums.

Now take this with a bunch of salt. I've not kept bees in about 30 years. So I'm learning this all over again.

Check out Bee Source Forums ( http://www.beesource.com/forums/index.php ). Lot's of good advice there.

-Steve

Like steve said, put the box-o-bees into one deep box. Just make sure no critters have moved in prior. You don't need to smoke them when installing new bees, but it won't hurt them if you do.

While they are still in the the shipping box, spray them lightly with a 50/50 mix of sugar syrup, this reduces the flyers. Remove the queen cage and put her in a safe spot like your jacket pocket. Dump/shake the bees into the deep box (that has 4 frames removed from the center.) Carefully slide frames back in. Make sure queen cage has fondant plug in one side. If it doesn't remove wood plug and plug hole with marshmallow. Rubber band queen cage to a frame. Slide that into the box. Put lid on box. Put entrance reducer on. Feed with syrup. Protein patty will help production as well.

Check in 3 days to ensure the queen has escaped her cage.
Check in a week to ensure egg laying has started.
Feed them well.
Add another box in a month or so.
Stop feeding with syrup when you put the supers on.

making the boxes is easy if you have a table saw. I've ordered most of my stuff from mannlakeltd.com Free shipping over $100

More info please? My bees are supposed to ship the 18th of April. Lots of stuff blooming here now, so I should not have to feed long. I noticed that the comb base on my new hive is plastic instead of wax, which I was expecting, will this slow things down? I did order another hive in case a swarm comes by. I have seen them in the past. miles

TBone gave some great advice for a new colony.

Protein patties are a pollen supplement generally used in fall and late winter to improve nutrition. The thin patty strips are laid on top of the frames in bee space at times other than during nectar flow. Bees prefer natural forage during nectar flow so the patties may be somewhat ignored if placed in spring and summer. Your plastic will be fine if pre-coated with bees wax. To a casual observer the plastic is not coated but yours likely came thinly coated - just hard to tell unless you scratch it to verify.

Good advice to supplement during first year.

Protein patty isn't necessary, but will expedite reproduction. Ultra-Bee is the brand I've used.

Do keep feeding sugar syrup. It really speeds up comb building. More comb = more bees.

Stop feeding syrup when you add supers.

Added my supers this morning... late for Piedmont NC.

Good advice so far. Follow it, you'll be fine. Caught a swarm Monday, pretty sure it's feral, as commercial guys haven't made it back here from California yet. Will begin rearing queens next week or so, and going to try 4 to 1 splits. Swarms about 1 month earlier this year than last. Have fun. Tim.

caught this swarm last week. easy pleasy. Biggest queen I've ever seen. She was almost the size of my pinky finger.

I stuffed them into a hive and wished them luck.

I'll check on them in a week or so to see if they took.

Send me some honey, huny

My bees arrived Wed. and I am going to look at my sugar water that is inside today. My info says to wait a week to look for them making comb and the queen laying eggs. I am anxious to look. Everything looks good from the outside. miles

Picked up my two four-frame nuc hives this morning. Up until last night the weather here was spectacular. Of course today and for the next several days it is rainy. Poured on us last night and on the way to the bees shop.

Anyway got them home and there was a break in the rain. So I suited up and got them moved over to their new homes. Thought they might be a little pissy with cold weather, being locked up, and driven all over hell the past day.

No so. They were as calm as could 'bee'. Found the queens in both hives. Good brood pattern, both capped and larvae. Didn't look too much for eggs as I'd found the queens.

Got them food and tucked them in. I'll take a look at them in a week and see if they're drawing out comb on the new foundation.

My new ones are really calm. I looked and they had already used up almost a quart of sugar water, so I refilled the jar. Then yesterday afternoon, late I went down and stood close to the entrance and watched. Lots of traffic incoming and some I could see a lot of pollen on their legs. I also saw some kind of small black beetle landing and going into the hive. I only saw a couple and could not get a good enough look to identify it, but I do not like that. Going to look around the net a little and see if I can learn anything. miles

Sounds like Small Hive Beetle as it looks like you live in s an area with them. They are apparently nasty little bastages and make a mess of comb and honey.

You got screened or closed bottom boards?

Here's a thread search about them from BeeSource

http://www.beesource.com/forums/search.php?searchid=8422890

With a screened BB you can make a trap that consists of a shallow pan with oil that sits under the screen.

Your link did not work, but I looked around a little on the web and made a makeshift trap and put in there this morning. I will do a better one when I get to town or scrounge some stuff to work with. miles

Awesome. Sorry about the link.

The first time that I saw the beetles, I saw 2 and killed 1 of them. The other one got in the hive before I realized what it was. I sat a looked a fairly long time yesterday and did not see any. Like I said I made a trap out of a DVD case and some quicklime. There are others similar using mineral oil but the one that I made was stuff I had handy and with the mineral oil you need the hive level. I checked and they had used almost all of a quart of sugar water and when I put a new jar on, I could see some new comb and I removed the queen cage. She was out and the bees still at home, so I think that She decided to stay. I am having a little trouble keeping my smoker going. I think that I just need practice. My bees seem real tame and a little later, I might try without the suit. I get really hot in it and hot weather has not hit here yet. Could be a big mistake. miles

What are you using in your smoker? We've got a lot of fir trees and I have been using litter from them. Works pretty good if I put enough in and give the bellows a pump or two every five minutes or so.

Just read that pieces of old denim jeans work well. Got a pair that are getting real thread bare and going to try that as soon as if clears up enough to check on the girls.

I'm gonna try some nitrile gloves and just a long sleeve shirt and pants. The gloves I have are hard to work in. But I'll use the veil and have the coveralls handy.

I used a piece of cotton cloth the first time and pine needles the second. I liked the smoke from the pine needles best, but it still wants to go out if you don't hit the bellows quite regular. Seems too often to me, but I am new at this. miles

I have two wild hives in hollow trees on my place, that I know of.

One of them stung me a few times last fall.