May 3, 2009 (Sunday)

The temperature is approximately 54 degrees and there have been rain showers for the past four days. I've been concerned about the bees going hungry because they can't work in the rain. Because I installed a new package and didn't have a lot of sugar syrup on hand to feed them, I decided to feed all the colonies sugar syrup and give them pollen patties. Bees need more than just carbohydrates from honey, sugar syrup or corn syrup to survive. They also need protein that usually comes from pollen especially when raising brood.

Beekeepers don't normally bother a newly installed bee colony until at least 5 days after installation. Because of necessasity I made the decision to feed them the syrup and pollen. Prediction of rain for the next three days meant they may starve. The new colony was very happy in their new home and were a little defensive when I began to pour in the sugar syrup and pollen patties. A couple of guard bees hit my veil and I quickly closed up the hive to reduce the disturbance.

I fed Hives #1 and #2 as well. Hive #2 was extremely active and the rain will keep them from swarming. Hopefully, after the split they won't swarm and I will need to kill any queen cells that I find. Sometimes this works, sometimes it doesn't work. It's always good to keep a log book so you know what has worked for you in the past.

The queen with attendants is due to arrive this Thursday, May 7th.

May 3, 2009 (Sunday)