Are you looking for local beekeepers who offer package installation services in Sacramento, CA? If so, you've come to the right place. In this article, we'll provide tips on what to treat and when to do it, as well as advice on how to winterize your hives and prevent swarming. We'll also discuss how to identify a failing queen and how to transport packages safely. Read on to learn more!When it comes to treating pests, it's important to check local beekeeping resources (clubs, other beekeepers, agricultural agencies, etc.) for tips on what to treat and when.
While some pests (such as the small hive beetle) are not found in all areas, Varroa mites are found everywhere and can cause serious damage if left untreated. For this reason, we recommend that everyone treat for mites, even if a hive appears strong. There are many commercial mite treatments available; check with a beekeeping supply store such as Dadant or Mann Lake for more information. Bees winter well in all but the most extreme climates, with a little care. In milder climates such as California's Sacramento Valley, no frost protection is needed.
In colder climates with lots of snow or prolonged frosts, you may need to protect hives or insulate them; check local resources for ideas based on conditions in your area. A healthy hive regulates the hive's temperature very well (94 degrees F) in all but the coldest areas. Bees should always be fed during the winter or left with enough honey. They should also be able to easily access their food source (bees that are too cold cannot move to their food source and will starve, even if the food is nearby). It is best if the winter food source is located above the winter bee group rather than below or on one side. The most common reason bees swarm is that their hive has grown too big and the queen has little space left to lay eggs (although other factors can also cause it).
If this is the case, you should add another superfood or divide the hive. If you have several supers, you can also take some fresh, unthrown base and place it in the main breeding chamber, changing things up and making the bees focus on pulling the new diaper instead of flying away. A queen who starts to lay only drones, or who doesn't put anything at all, could have run out of semen (due to her age or poor mating), or could have suffered some damage. Certain chemicals, as well as extreme cold, have been shown to also harm a queen's viability. Sometimes it's hard to know why a queen fails.
Another sign that a queen has left or is not lying down properly is that the queen's cells (cells from nature) begin to develop in the hive. In this case, the workers are trying to create a new queen. If there are viable eggs or young larvae in the previous queen's hive, one or more of these queen cells will hatch and a new queen will emerge. The virgin queen will kill any other queen cell that hasn't hatched. It will then fly to mate with any drones that are in the area.
In some areas, this could be a cause for concern if there are no unmanned or unwanted aircraft (such as Africanized drones) nearby. This is why it's generally best to buy a new queen from a reputable breeder. It's also important to establish contacts with others in your area to learn about pests, pollination, honey flow, and winter precautions in your location (for example, beekeeping in Montana is not the same as beekeeping in Florida).When transporting packages of bees from one place to another, it's important to take certain precautions. A spray bottle filled with a mixture of 50% pure cane sugar and 50% water will be used to nourish the bees while they are in the package and will serve as a way to calm them down just before installation. If you're transporting some packages in the car, the ideal is to use the back seat or the passenger seat with the fan on (open windows also work, just make sure there's good airflow). If your package comes from Koehnen's, the bees will be healthy and as pest-free as possible, as the hives your bees come from are treated on a regular basis throughout the year. The Bee Box store is located at 4765 J Street, Sacramento, CA 95819; it's on the corner of J and 48th Streets in East Sacramento.
If you transport it on the platform of a van, you can easily place small quantities of packages against the cabin so that they receive air but are not blown away by highway winds. The beekeeper in the video below is not wearing protective equipment because he doesn't work directly with live bees. In conclusion, finding local beekeepers who offer package installation services in Sacramento can be done by researching local resources such as clubs and other beekeepers for tips on what treatments should be done when and how best to winterize hives and prevent swarming. It is important to identify failing queens and transport packages safely by using spray bottles filled with sugar water and placing packages against cabin walls when transporting them by car or van. Lastly, contact other beekeepers in your area for advice on pests, pollination and honey flow.
