New first time beekeepers here in Manasquan New Jersey NJ.
We have a new 6 frame flow hive cedar. Built it all up and installed a new 3lb package. I am planning on adding another 8 frame brood box once they build the started 8 frame box out. I have been reading, watching, videos and learning a lot. I am using a top feeder and feeding the colony. Our first inspection is this saturday which will be one week after installation. I had fashioned a single hole reducer and had that on, but there was so much activity coming out and trying to get back in that I opened it up a bit, to allow another 2 - 3 inches of entrance. They have been coming and going with sacs full of pollen. Seems pretty steady except when it rains which in this part of NJ has been nearly daily for over a week. Our bees were in their package for nearly 5 days before we installed them due to rain and just how long it took us to get them. I suspect they needed to get out for cleaning and orientations. That said, we had a couple solid days of 70+ dry weather and there was steady activity all day. I check on them constantly like a nervous dad! We had an immediate ant problem which caught me off guard so I fashioned moats, cinnamon, grease and just about everything else I read. They are slowly dissipating. Otherwise I have not seen any evidence of robbing, or crazy behavior. I hope by now our queen has been released and she is getting to work.
I would love to meet some locals who have bees, as well as hear any words of wisdom from the forum members.
Leave the entrance open: The Holly trees, Tulip Poplar, Tupelo (Black Gum), and Blackberries are going strong right now giving them lots of pollen and nectar.
Seems the new Dad is doing everything right, not sure what the entrance is or if it can be adjusted but if there is a ‘traffic jam’ at the entrance then I would be prepared to open it up just another 1/2 inch.
All sounds good, bees won’t fly in the rain, a rain drop hitting a bee is like you being hit by a Kenworth.
Welcome to the forum, it is world wide and a world of help and advise freely given but remember that your local climate is possibly different to the member giving you advise. My advise is to keep breathing, ask for help and enjoy the good times - bee stings do reduce in numbers as you become more confident.
@redhotchilipepper, thanks for the advice. With everything im learning and reading im like a nervous father of 10,000 kids. Worried to death about robbing, ants, illness and all sorts of stuff. I took off the reducer. I like the idea of the mouse blocker in fall, and also like this configurable reducer i saw made out of some 1/8 inch hardware cloth across the entrance. Well still so much to learn!
Not sure if ir is normal but i managed my install with just 1 sting and im pretty sure it was my fault for smacking the package a bit too hard when shaking them out. I have followed some popular advice and did not wear gloves. Im gonna try not wearing them for the inspection as well. After a week the sting site is still reminding me of the trophy. Ha ha
I wear gloves to remove the roof, by then I know if the hive is hot or calm. Most of the time I remove them for the extra sense of touch and dexterity.
You did ok to just get one sting for a new beekeeper, work calmly and smooth, don’t rush the bees and they will more often continue with their work.
Regards
I don’t know if you can get these ‘guards’ in the US or not. They are easy to fit with tacks on the guard slider at each end, it is a mouse guard (or cane toads or any other undesirables) in the position shown and by reversing it (upside down) it closes in the bees but still allows hive ventilation when you want to transport the hive.
Regards
Hey Will, welcome to the forum and all the help that is available here. There is some great people here with long experience in bee keeping. There are many members that are local to you and local knowledge is worth its weight in gold.
Cheers mate
Will is an Aussie usurper on your local thread @Dan_C. I am sure he is a good guy really. I bet @Donp is good too. Hopefully his bees overwintered as well as yours did.
I am sure he is a good guy really. 
I bet 