All posts tagged: new hive

Bees in their new home

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It’s been a week since I shook the swarm off this branch. These are the ones who still lingered for a while after the shaking.Here the ones in the big plastic bin are fanning their little wings to call the others down from the branch. Late at night, after they’d all gathered in the bin, I installed them in my top bar hive in my little backyard. They moved right in to their new home and the comb left by my colony from last year. They went through a whole quart of sugar syrup so far and today I gave them a little more since it’s going to be a bit cooler for a while. They may really not need it. I looked around inside the hive and discovered that they are indeed storing honey and pollen. That’s a good sign. No baby bees eggs to be seen yet. I sure hope they know what they are doing. I’m a little anxious after loosing last year’s swarm, but these gals are way ahead and much …

The bees are here

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They came today on a truck from Cottage Grove. Four frames of bees and honey and a new, fertilized queen ready to lay thousands of eggs. After dropping the kids at school I drove to Ruhl’s bee supply in Gladstone to pick up the nucleus hive (nuc). It’s the small wooden box you see above underneath the hive. Since they are from only an hour away they should be used to our lovely wet weather. Kate and Mary Ann gave me great moral support when I struggled to open the lid of the box. It was only held in by two nails, but I swear it was the hardest part of the whole adventure. Next I moved the black feeding tray over. We might use it in addition to the entrance feeders if the bees go through more than a quart a day. It is quite cool and rainy these days, so they may need the extra food until they get a chance to find enough nectar in the neighborhood. We’re feeding them 1:1 sugar …