Two New for 2021
After loosing my big hive over the winter, as described in a previous post, my wife and I decided to install two new hives this year. My wife has gotten very involved with bee keeping and we decided that one have would be her's and one would be mine. A little friendly competition is always good for a marriage I say.
So, we picked up our hives on a rainy Saturday evening. We had to come at assigned times because of covid precautions, and our assigned time was 4 to 5pm. Because it was raining a lot and we were advised, and had already decided, to instill them on Sunday afternoon. This is not a problem you just have to keep them in a cool dry space, a misting of water can also be helpful if it is hot. They always come from the breeder with a lunch of sugar water so they won't go hungry.
There are two basic methods to install a package of bees either the dump method or the slow release method. In either method you put the queen cage between two frames with the cork out of the candy side and the candy side up. They will get her out by eating through the candy. This gives them time to become accustom to her pheromone. I check back in three days to make sure she is out and doing well. In the slow release method you take the can containing the sugar water lunch out and place the package box with hole side up. You then come back the next day and remove the package box and replace the four frames you removed to make room for it. I have found even if you do the slow method you will still have to dump some stubborn bees out. 😊
The dump method, expertly performed by my wife.
Here my wife is inserting the queen cage. Great Job! You do this before dumping you bees in!!
Two weeks later queens are seen and doing their job of laying eggs. Good job ladies.
Lots of good brood, look closely and you can see some eggs as well. This year the queens are marked with a white dot. Also, honey production is under way. See the capped honey in the upper corners.
This bee keeping is hard work but it is a great hobby.
