Hello beekeepers,
I wanted to share with you the gentlest and most elegant way to install a package of bees into your beehive. If you have ever shaken honeybees out of their box, you know it is both exciting and a bit frightening, but it also is a little rough on the bees. We have been employing this new, improved strategy for the last several years, and hope you will give it a try.
First, we readied each hive by putting two frames of honey into each deep, along with the already built-out frames in our two empty hives. Then we just removed the can of syrup (no longer needed) and carefully placed the queen in her little cage and the open box of bees into each hive (having first removed the cork on the queen cage and replaced it with a bit of marshmallow). We then put the lid on and give the bee-girls a couple days to release the queen, and Voila! Happy Bees.
What a lazy way to load the hives. We loved it.
I wanted to share with you the gentlest and most elegant way to install a package of bees into your beehive. If you have ever shaken honeybees out of their box, you know it is both exciting and a bit frightening, but it also is a little rough on the bees. We have been employing this new, improved strategy for the last several years, and hope you will give it a try.
First, we readied each hive by putting two frames of honey into each deep, along with the already built-out frames in our two empty hives. Then we just removed the can of syrup (no longer needed) and carefully placed the queen in her little cage and the open box of bees into each hive (having first removed the cork on the queen cage and replaced it with a bit of marshmallow). We then put the lid on and give the bee-girls a couple days to release the queen, and Voila! Happy Bees.
What a lazy way to load the hives. We loved it.
Package of bees, waiting to be installed
Package on its side; queen cage and syrup removed
Ready for the cover: let rest for two days
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