We installed 9 new hives last week! You can see how Robert installs a new hive of bees in the below video.
New hives are not aggressive, they're actually quite passive because they don't have anything to protect {except for the queen}. These girls traveled all the way from Georgia and were pretty ready for a new home.
First Robert removes the queen cage to be sure the queen is still alive and mobile. He sets it aside and pours the bees into the hive. To attract the bees to the frames he sprays them with sugar syrup. They are hungry and thirsty after their travels so they are eager to eat. He then removes the cork from one end of the queen cage. Hard candy still imprisons the queen, giving the bees time to get to know her before releasing her into the hive. He places the queen cage between the frames and we leave them be for a couple of days. Robert will return to remove the other cork, releasing the queen {if they haven't eaten through the candy yet} into the hive.
We're excited to see these new hives grow and store honey for the winter. Our established hives are currently gathering pollen and nectar, making honey which we will steal in June!
First Robert removes the queen cage to be sure the queen is still alive and mobile. He sets it aside and pours the bees into the hive. To attract the bees to the frames he sprays them with sugar syrup. They are hungry and thirsty after their travels so they are eager to eat. He then removes the cork from one end of the queen cage. Hard candy still imprisons the queen, giving the bees time to get to know her before releasing her into the hive. He places the queen cage between the frames and we leave them be for a couple of days. Robert will return to remove the other cork, releasing the queen {if they haven't eaten through the candy yet} into the hive.
We're excited to see these new hives grow and store honey for the winter. Our established hives are currently gathering pollen and nectar, making honey which we will steal in June!
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