Spring is here and that means new bees — either from nucs (small starter hives) or packages. A package is solely a box of bees that were shaken into it, along with a queen and a can of syrup. Yesterday I was able to spend a bit of time with a fellow beekeeper that just brought home two packages of bees purchased from Hank at Belleville Honey & Beekeeping Supply in Burlington, Wa. It was his install but I enjoyed being there to take some pictures and to watch it all.
My friend there has a very interesting beekeeping hood with a pyramid top but it works quite well keeping any bees from getting close enough to sting while not being too large or cumbersome. I really like it!
The day was a bit cool at first, just coming of a few days of rain. But at about 4:00pm, the wind calmed and the sun was out and the temperature was just about perfect for hiving some new bees.
Installing a package into a new hive is pretty simple:
- Open the hive and take out a few frames to make room.
- Open the package, removing the can of syrup and the queen.
- Remove the cork from the queen cage and replace with candy or marshmallow.
- Place the queen in between a couple frames with the screen facing a direction so that attendants can feed her.
- Shake the bees from the package into the hive.
- Add syrup and pollen substitute to help get them going.
Viola! You have bees fanning the entrance, telling everyone that this is home!