Ok, I've got a new obsession, read some books, watched some videos and have built my hive boxes, so what about my bees? This is the most exciting part! I've been given a pick-up date from the apiary where I ordered my bees. Holy crap, this is really happening! What do I need to do before I pick them up? The hive is built and it has been setup in the bee yard. What do I do with them once they're in the hive? Do I need to feed them or can they find flowers on their own? Well usually the answer is yes they can forage for flowers, however, it's still very early in Spring and my bees need to eat, but the nectar isn't flowing yet. What do they eat? Well, honey, of course, but sadly this is a brand new home with no honey combs yet. We will have to settle for some sugar syrup/water. Sugar syrup/water can be harsh on their midgut so a fellow beekeeper gave me a recipe that helps with that. You steep one cup of chamomile tea with thyme leaves then add it to 10 cups of sugar with 9 cups of water and some essential oils.
The chamomile tea raises the pH level of the sugar water bringing it closer to levels in honey and makes it easier on their midgut. Thyme leaves help with pests like varroa mites. You boil a cup of water to make the tea and while it steeps with the thyme leaves, finish the rest. You get the water just hot and not boiling, add sugar and stir until it's all liquified. Let it cool then add the tea, essential oils, and a pinch of sea salt. Ta Da! You have your spring (1:1 ratio of sugar to water) syrup.
The essential oils help with feeding them yes, but they also help with comb building, brood rearing and all around good nutrition for them. I put the syrup in four feeder jars and refrigerated them. The feeder jars have tiny holes in the cap so when they are upside down it acts like a vacuum and allows the bees to drink from them without drowning in a gallon of sweet water.
The jars go into a wooden shim like this:
The feeder goes directly on top of the inner cover, that way the bees can come up thru the inner cover and get their drink on.
Alright, the sugar is ready! Let's go get our bees!
Here they are! 10,000 amazing little creatures plus their new queen, all in my backseat! They had such a happy hum going that I didn't even turn on the radio. I just wanted to listen to them.
Inside that vented box is a syrup can, so they can eat while they're being transported. The queen is in a cage which is allowing the bees to get used to her pheromone without harming her. This was not the queen in their original colony so they need to accept a new one. A few days to a week is about the time it takes for her to be released from her cage.
So let's get them home! Here is a video of the installation. I do apologize for all of the butt shots!
Ok, so you crack open the box top, pull out the sugar can, pull out the queen cage, check to see if she's okay, then get everyone inside the hive, close up all the boxes and let them check out their new digs. It's a bunch of things all at once and it usually takes just a few minutes.
We placed the queen cage on a paint stick and taped it down. This way we could slide the stick out to check on her without disrupting the rest of the hive. It takes 3-5 days for the queen to be released. Released? What does that mean? Well there is a cork on either end of the queen cage. Behind one cork is the queen plus a few nursing bees taking care of her so do NOT pull that one unless you want her out. The other cork has candy on the other side of it. The candy, once exposed, will entice the bees in the hive to eat inward while the bees inside of the cage are eating their way out. Once the candy is gone, the queen and "her court" will be released into the hive, then the queen can get busy.
Here are a few shots of the bees checking out their new digs.
The little girl at the top and a few to the right are actually fanning their scent so the bees that are flying around know that this is their new home. It's like a scent beacon for them. So amazing to watch.
The lighter wood is an entrance reducer. When they are installed into a new place, it's good to give them a much smaller entrance for a few reasons. First and foremost, they don't have their home developed yet and aren't strong enough to defend a larger space. Secondly, the smaller the entrance keeps the queen scent stronger inside and finally, it will keep it a little warmer since it's still very chilly outside.
The girls kept crawling around and checking everything out.
It was a fantastic day!
Here is a view of the feeder jars inside the hive. They are drinking happily from their new watering hole(s).
It took much restraint on my part not to check on them everyday. We installed on Friday the 22nd and by Tuesday the 26th, the queen was released! This is what the cage looks like now that everyone is out. Under the black tape is where the candy was located. It was nice not to see any dead girls left behind. Everyone survived and now they can get to work. The queen will start laying eggs in the comb that the workers have been building while she was inside.
I don't know yet how much they have built but I'll know in a couple days. I had to wait a week to see how they're doing which means that this Tuesday I'm going in! I'll let you know how it goes!
Until next time, bee kind 🐝
Until next time, bee kind 🐝
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