Monday, April 19, 2010

Buzz, Buzz, Buzz.... Our Bees are here!

The package was buzzing like crazy! Those 3 lbs of bees didn't like being stuck in that little box... so we let them out - slowly of course!

I put on a bee veil that my friend Dave lent to me, along with my long sleeved white jacket, and some gloves. I had long pants on, and put rubber bands around the bottom so no bees could crawl/fly up my pant legs.

They were very gentle bees, none of them were chasing after me or swarming at me, trying to sting. I had several that landed on me, then just flew away after a minute. I was pretty happy that I didn't get stung AT ALL during the installation of the package of bees. I think the key is to work slowly and confidently, keeping bumping and rattling to a minimum!
The can is full of syrup (1 part sugar/1 part water) for the bees to get a good head start in their hive. If there doesn't seem to be a good nectar flow, I can easily supplement their diet with some syrup made in my kitchen -nothing fancy!


A few days later I headed out to check on the little buggies - they were hard at work, drawing out comb on the foundation.





Look at all of those bees!





The bees seem pretty happy in their home, and in a few more days I'll check on them to make sure the queen is laying eggs. They're doing a good job making comb right now, and I know she's in there, so I'm content to let them work for a little while before I check on them again! Pretty soon we'll add another hive body and a honey super, just to make sure they have enough room for growth and storage their first year here.

3 comments:

Jenny said...

Wow, Em, look at you! That is incredibly cool. My grandpa always kept a hive and he got to where he didn't need a mask, his bees were so used to him. I have a picture of him petting a bee on the hive with his finger (not recommended to us, of course). Your own honey will be sweet!

Jen said...

I am SUPER impressed. I have dreams of keeping bees, even though I'm allergic to them! I want to know more, hope you continue to post about your progress. Thanks for visiting me at my blog. The honey pots are a fun thing to collect. You need to get one.

warren said...

Hey, I just saw that Maria at ChickenBlog referenced you and bees. I keep bees too and am always glad to see someone get into the hobby! You'll get some stings but I suspect the bees will get under your skin so to speak...keep up the good work!