Bees in a Box

So I dumped 3lbs of bees in a box to free their queen and . . . now what?

Now, it's time to wait.  It was really difficult not to look inside the hive, but very important that I gave them time to settle into their new home.  After a few days passed, however, it was time to take a peek!

On Friday, I fired up my smoker for the first time, zipped on my jacket and veil, and was ready to see how my little gals were doing.  I very lightly smoked the entrance and took off the lid.  The first thing to do was pull up the queen box and see if she was released.  A quick look showed that she was out and about.  A good sign!  One by one, I removed top bars to check for comb being built.  It did not take long to find some!

The yellow on the new comb is pollen the bees collected.

I quickly realized I did not need to worry about smoking the bees.  Smoke has long been known to "calm" bees.  Basically, a little smoke does two things:  some of the bees will prepare to abandon the hive by drinking honey, as though there is a forest fire;  the smoke will make it difficult to smell any alarm pheromones being sent out by guard bees.  Since my colony is so new, they are pretty much focused on building up their resources and not defending the hive.

The queen is somewhere under the other bees in this photo.

I quickly checked two of the combs.  It did not take long to find the queen laying eggs.  There was even honey and pollen in some of the cells.  All signs show the colony is off to a good start.

The Coming of the Bees

Needless to say, I was filled with excitement in the anticipation of my bees arrival May 9th.  Fortunately, this excitement managed to last until two weeks later, when my bees actually arrived.

I received a call around 7:30AM from the Owings Mills post office.  The woman on the other end, with a bit of forced cheerfulness in her voice, said, "Your bees have arrived.  We open at 9:00."  I arrived shortly after the doors opened and proudly stated that I was there to pick-up my bees.  The woman behind the counter disappeared to the back for a few minutes before returning.  Just behind her was a man holding the package of bees well away from his body.  I guess not everyone is so happy to see our little honey helpers in the morning.

The bees in the screened package.

 

Welcome to Maryland, bees!

I put the swarm in my car and headed off to Irvine to introduce them to their new home.

Prior to their arrival, I made sure the hive was nice and level.  This is an important step as the bees will draw their comb as gravity directs them.  A level hive will hopefully mean nice straight combs that are easy to work with and make the best use of the hive's space.

There are quite a few orioles at Irvine.  This one sang beautifully while I used some scrap wood to level the hive.

Close enough

Another quick step was to build a feeder to feed the new colony sugar syrup.  They had been in transit for the past few days and it's important that they have some fresh carbohydrates to build the honeycomb with.  Sugar syrup (1lb sugar/ 1 pint water) is not the best dietary supplement for the bees, but does the trick to get them started.

Just a few corks pressed into drilled holes spaced to hold a mason jar.

Just a few small holes in the lid.

Vacuum sealed and ready for the bees to get a drink!

Once the feeder was in the hive it was time to welcome home the queen.  The package has a can full of sugar water sealing it shut.  First, I mist the bees with a bit of sugar water to keep them occupied. After loosening the can and lifting it straight up, I have access to the "mini-package" the queen comes in.

The queen and a few loyal subjects that take care of her during the journey.

The queen box attached to one of the top bars.  The bees will probably begin by building comb on this bar.

The queen box is sealed with sugar to keep her enclosed for a couple days while the other bees get accustomed to the new home.  The other bees eat away at the sugar to free her.  During the shipping, a small cork keeps them from being able to do this.  I removed the cork before attaching the box to a top bar with a push pin.

Now, it's time to dump in the rest!  After firmly tapping the package against the ground to loosen all the bees, I spray them again with sugar water.  Then, I fully remove the can and literally turn the package over and pour the bees into hive.  Of course, this also means hundreds of bees flying around in the air too!  All there is left to do is close off the hive by putting the top bars in place and put on the lid.

Releasing thousands of honeybees upon the world!

All finished by 10:00AM.

Happy to bee home.

They're Coming!

My bees are set to arrive tomorrow!

It's a good thing these came in the mail today . . .

Finishing Touches

Before I painted the hive, I measured out some handy legs to attach.  For some odd reason, I didn't take any photos of the legs as I worked on them.  They are pretty simple and cut so that they support the hive by the bottom while attaching to the front and back with 2.5" galvanized bolts.

It has legs!  I made them short so I can put the hive on cinder blocks and keep all the wood off the ground.

The top bars in the hive.

 Here you can see the top bars on top of the hive here without the lid.  I do not have the woodworking expertise to make these beautiful triangle top bars that are a single piece of wood.  There are a lot of ways to make top bars, but ones like this can support a lot of honeycomb and give a large surface for the bees to build on.  My uncle Tommy, an excellent woodworker, made them out of a walnut tree from where I grew up.

Top bar

1/2" hardware cloth on the entrance holes and 1/8" on the floor

Once the legs were attached, the only thing left to do was put some hardware cloth on the bottom and on the entrance and vent holes.  The hardware cloth on the bottom is small so the bees cannot get through and is to allow ventilation.  On the entrance holes, it is 1/2" so the bees can go in and out, but mice cannot raid the hive or nest in it.












Finally, I was able to move the hive up to its final resting place!