...feeding the bees

I went by to check on the bees today.  They were busy!  Every 3-4 days for the next several weeks, Rachel and I will have to check the bee's feeders.  The bees consume a diet of 1-1 sugar water.  They will do this until they find a steady food supply in the form of pollen and nectar.  Above is a picture of the feeder.  The feeder is in an empty hive box that sits on top of a hive box containing 8 frames, a queen, and all the bees.  The bees are busy building out the honeycomb in the bottom hive box so that the queen can began to lay eggs. In order to do this, they need to eat.  Their food supply comes from the quart jars you see above.  Each quart jar has tiny holes in the lid that the bee sticks its tongue into to get sugar water.  The bees have consumed a little over 2 quarts of sugar water since Wednesday evening.  On Friday, we are going to inspect the bottom hive box to check for brood (baby bee eggs) and to find Priscilla and Gwenevere.

...hiving the bees

We now have bees in our hives.

The process was pretty straight forward. First, we sprayed the bees down with sugar water. This causes them to huddle together to stay warm. They form a clump of bees and stop flying when you spray them. Next, you remove the queen from the box of bees. They travel in a box with the queen who is in her own box. The bees are now obsessed with her smell after traveling with her all day.

She is laid in the bottom of the hive before the bees are dumped into the hive on top of her.

As the bees come into contact with her, they eat the sugar around her box to free her. Then, they get to work!

Whitney's Bee Movie:

Rachel's Bee Movie:

Our bee EMT:

...primping the hives (part 2)

Butta-yellow. The prettiest bee hives in the world! Our bees are going to be so happy to move into their new homes on Wednesday. That's right...we get our bees on Wednesday afternoon. When Rachel and I decided to do this beekeeper thing, she verbalized some nervousness about working with the bees. It never crossed my mind to be nervous...until last Thursday. On Thursday, we got an email telling us the bees would be here soon. Every time I think about working with the bees, my stomach flip-flops. It is flip-flopping now! I look forward (I hope you will too) to posting pictures on Wednesday night of our first full-contact-bee-taming abilities!