Hi Elizabeth,
You asked about when to hive packages in cold rainy weather.  As soon as you can get them in the box!  It is actually easier when it is rainy or snowing since the bees don't tend to fly and drift.  I have hived packages in the snow here in Minnesota and have not had problems.  You can do a few things to make it go easier.  If you have several packages to hive go around and remove the four middle frames from the hive bodies and place the package into the hive and put the cover on top.  That will allow the bees to start to warm the insides of the hive while you are installing them and protects the packages from the weather.  Install the packages ( I spray them with sugar water and dump them in) and direct release the queen into the bees.  Replace the frames carefully, give each package a pollen substutite patty and place a feeder on top with sugar syrup ( 50:50) medicated with fumidil.  The fumidil protects the queen from nosema in this stressed situation and so prevents some common queen problems.  Medicate only the first gallon or so of syrup since that is all that is needed.  Do make very sure to use top feeders that the bees can cluster directly under and get the syrup and they will do fine.  It has been done here in a blizzard and the bees did fine as long as they could cluster under the feeder and take the syrup.
Good luck with the packages.

blane



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Blane White
MN Dept of Agriculture
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