Welcome Home Honey Bees!

So last night I received an email that said the bees are in a day early. All the better because weather is supposed to move in this weekend and could make it tough to install the bees if it rains.

We drove up to get the bees. Once again, Plan Bee was very generous, and gracious, considering the millions of bees they had in, and around, their place. The noise was amazing. There were, what seemed like, crowds of bees in the air.

Here's a few of the hundreds of bee packages they had.

The bees and their new homes. We placed the hives about 50 feet apart to install the bees and allow them to get used to their new hive. They will be placed next to each other in a month or so.

Inspecting the north colony. We got the hive ready by removing some frames, and filling the entrance feeders before we let the bees out. The sugar water spray helped out quite a bit. It didn't really seem to bother them much but it definitely made it hard for them to buzz around. There were plenty that still made it airborne.

The old guys were unafraid. The first package I opened, I tried not to shake the bees, bang the package, or be otherwise rude. It didn't go well. When I grabbed the queen box, they got really upset and buzzed loudly. I gave them a shot of sugar water but there were a few that were too mad. It got kinda hairy for a second. I had to step back. The loud buzzing makes it hard to trust the veil.

 Her Highness. Both queens were unmarked. Neither queen box had a candy plug.

I was prepared. I brought mini marshmallows. I even brought enough for Ashlyn [who was the photographer].

I carefully plugged the exit. She was very interested in getting out of the box.

Here's a few workers exploring the new digs. They started getting into that brood patty before I even had the queen installed.

Still not into shaking bees, I placed the package into the hive. All you can see is the tiny aluminum tab from the queen.

 Bees for the south hive.

 Opening the package.. I sprayed them first. This time I decided to knock the package on the table one time. It made all the difference. A second shot of sugar spray, they didn't know what happened to even get mad about it. Thankfully Hailey built a work table that is durable enough to stand up to the abuse.

 This queen gets a marshmallow.

 These bees are all in the bottom of the package. Much easier to manage that way. I still don't want to be rude so I'm not going to shake these either.

 Both brood boxes got an inner cover.

 I placed the package feeders above the brood box. The more food available the better, right?

Empty super around it.

Home sweet home. At least for a day or two. We will go back in on Sunday to remove the package, replace the brood frames, and add a frame of capped honey. While I'm in there, I'll see if the marshmallow has been eaten at all, and if the queen is doing well.

Then, we'll open up the entrance to the hive so they can get to work. We left it closed up so the workers can get used to their new queen. We don't want anyone trying to fly back to Montana to find their old queen.

The weather today was in the mid 60's, and breezy. It was gusty when we arrived with the bees. The wind seemed to let up just long enough to install the bees. It was mostly cloudy. Thunderstorms rolled through parts of the metro area later in the afternoon.

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