Home Sweet Hive

The last post was about getting the hives ready, and the bees arriving. Now we are going to get the bees off my kitchen table and out to their new homes! I have to admit, I was pretty nervous about taking the bees, who were tucked away in a little screen box, and releasing them into the hive. I mean really, if you believe what you see in the movies, all bees will instantly attack and turn you into a lumpy, bumpy, calamine covered mess!
But, Dad said  no, that that was not going to be the case, lol My bees were going to love me, and I was going to love my bees. He was right of course!
Eat up little bees! I made sure they had a little more sugar water before we took them outside, They were so hungry!

Eat up little bees! Big things are on the way!

After they had a snack we took them out in the yard. The packages were attached by two wooden strips and we needed to separate them so we could put them IN the hives. If you have never met my Dad, let me tell you, he does not mess around!  He is like Sonic the Hedgehog, zipping here and there, so I did not have time to be scared!  I was too buys just trying to keep up with him!

Prying!

Dad and his trusty pocket knife! I swear I thought he was going to lose a finger! Those cages were really stuck together, but I guess you would not want them coming apart in the mail. Yikes!

Prying some more!

Finally!

And with a crack!  It happened, the two cages were separated and we were ready to take them to the hives.

The Bee Whisperer!

Here is Dad packing his box to the hives. Dad is so gentle with the bees, and they just ride along buzzing softly! He really is the Bee Whisperer!

Here you go little bees! Home sweet hive!

 Here we have walked out to the hives and now we open them up. I am starting to get a bit nervous. After all, we are about to release thousands of bees.Dad is cool as a cucumber! For me it is a normal reaction to start slapping and slinging when a bee lands on you, but Dad says that is bad, lol That we need to move slowly and gently, and they bees will not get upset. They just want to check us out!

Yikes! Look out! That is one sharp knife!

Here is Dad with his knife again,! That thing s a multi purpose tool I tell you! I will say, he did end up bleeding just a tad. We were glad that bees were not like sharks, and go crazy over a drop of blood, lol 

Tada!

We have the cage open, and now you can see the can of sugar water included to keep the bees fed while they are in transit. We will also leave it in the hive for a while so they can have easy food while they build their combs and learn the best places to forage. 

Easy now!

Now, how DO you get that can out?! Dads knife of course! What else?
Here is a video of us taking the jar out, and also the queen in her cage. A little warning, I look terrible, AND, I talk really fast. Especially when I am excited! Ok...so I talk REALLY fast all the time..

See! How cool is that!! So after that, we put the lid back on the top box and wait for them to get out of the package. Then they will get busy and liberate their queen! It took three days for both queens to be freed and get to work laying eggs.  Here they are down in the frames pulling out the wax out to make combs. I imagine the queen is somewhere in there busy laying eggs. Yay!!

Aww!

 I go out and check on them often to make sure all is well. Then a few days ago  I took the top box off the one hive, gave them an entrance feeder, and  now they are doing awesome! They are out foraging so they can bringing back lots of pollen and nectar. Here are a few of them returning to the hive!

Landing gear down!

Incoming!

The other hive was a bit testy when I checked on it about noon. There was a small hole in the top box and they decided that was the entrance. So instead of coming and going out the front, they were buzzing in and out the hole in the back of the hive. Dad came by today to check on everything and make sure all was well, and I was so glad!! He took the top box off the testy confused hive and we installed their entrance feeder. They were so thrown off that a bunch of them balled up where their "entrance" used to be and were looking around all lost. BUT, Dad assured me they would find the right door, and they did. When I checked them before bed they were all tucked away in their hives doing what bees do at night! Maybe watch B movies?. Hehe
Well, there you go! I am so enjoying my awesome Beeventure and I hope you are finding it as cool as I am! I will definitley keep you updated with their progress. :)
Early June we will be getting a nuc of bees. Yea, that is 5 frames filled with all stages of bees! Woo Hoo! Of course I will bring you along with me for the experience! So keep an eye out, we have some exciting summer plans here on the Backwards Homestead!
Shout out to Katrina for taking all these awesome pics and videos! Her, Pud'nin and Joy were all there cheering us on during the process. Quietly of course! LOL!
Also, Leave a comment and let me know you were here, I love hearing from anyone who happens to stop by!. :)