The Bees Have Finally Arrived

Well, yesterday was the big day. The package of bees that I received on Tuesday had survived to B-DAY ...code name for sticking 10,000 bees into a 16x20 box. I got home early from work, made a gallon of sugar syrup and gathered all of my tools (I thought) to accomplish my mission. The sugar syrup involved bringing a gallon of water to just shy of boiling and adding eight pounds of granulated sugar, stirring until it was all dissolved. I was sticky for an hour afterwards! I poured some of this concoction into a spray bottle and the rest into what's called a "hive-top" feeder. I got everything staged outside near the empty hive. Joe and his buddy Justin came over equipped with their video cameras to record the event. After Theresa got home, we began. The package is a screened box a little bigger than a shoebox containing thousands of buzzing bees, a quart can of sugar syrup and a small cage containing the queen and her small entourage.

First step was to spray the bees with the sugar syrup to preoccupy them for the procedure ahead. I prised off the lid exposing the top of the feeder can and the queen cage. After removing these and recovering the box, I installed the queen cage in the hive (the bees release her over the next several days)

At this point I have to say that having read several books, and most particularly, watched a video of decidedly manly men performing this whole procedure with a minimum of protection, I had decided I would be one of these manly men and do the same, ie. a short sleeve shirt, thin plastic gloves and the veil that I was not manly enough to do without. "Hiving" the bees involves shaking the bees out of the package into the hive. Well, it would have been nice of the bees to dutifully enter the hive and await further instructions from their beekeeper. But bees don't put too much stock in being dutiful...at least to a hulking beekeeper who smells funny. So down they went into the hive and many, many of them came back up to check out the aforementioned funny-smelling hulking beekeeper. Immediately I was stung three times and off I ran into the yard, recorded for posterity on Joe's video camera.

At that point I gave up on being a manly man and donned full protection (as seen in the attached picture!) Once I was covered from head to toe and thus achieved a feeling of security in my mind, things proceeded much more smoothly and I'm happy to say that the bees are safely ensconced in there hive now. On coming home from work today (Friday) I was delighted to see them doing what bees do...winging in and out of the hive entrance on their appointed rounds. Checking the hive feeder confirmed that they are chowing down on all that sugar syrup I made for them and so I have high hopes for their success.

And so endeth the beginning of this adventure. I'll keep you all posted with further developments at least until you say stop!