Our Apiary

Our Bees are home.  They will begin their work and if all goes well, by September we'll have honey!

These are Italian Honey Bees.

Here they are coming out of the box used for transportation.  Our "Bee Guy" Mike removed the can which was there to feed them sugar water during their time in the box.     

The queen arrives in her own little box (inside the larger box) to help the other bees become accustomed to her scent and see her as their queen.

Honey Bees are so docile and I think they are cute!  They're quite tiny and have a sweet little body.

Next he placed them in the bottom box which is called a super.  The boards you see here inside the box are called frames. Basically the frames in the very bottom are where the queen will lay her eggs (Brood Chambers) and where they will also store pollen and some honey for their own use.  As they fill the frames she will move up to the second super and fill those with eggs.  The very top will be a shallow super and this is where they will store only honey.  After the queen lays her eggs in the second super she'll move back down to the bottom super (which will be empty after the bees have hatched) and start the process all over again.  

He then placed on a cover with a hole in the top to allow access to the sugar water for them to eat. The sugar water is there until they get their bearings and know where to get food and water.  Bees have their own internal "GPS" and will fly around the surrounding area up to, I think,  5 miles to find what they need.  Another super goes on top of that.  

Getting acquainted with their new home and surroundings.  

Getting to work.  (Here are two supers.  The shallow super will be added once the queen moves up to the second super)

This is not the most attractive hive but with some plantings along the bottom and a more attractive weight for the top (the weight helps with predators and storms) I think it's going to be quite lovely in the yard.  I wanted to paint the hive purple but when I sent him the email about painting it he said it's "Not advisable" because the bees will stick to the paint.  He did say I could come and pick up the hive and paint it before he came on Saturday but he lives an hour away and we couldn't fit it into our Spring Break schedule. Oh well, it's white, and with some cheerful flowers it will be pretty enough I think.    

Before Mike left he said "Bring some chairs up here this summer and sit to the side (never block the entrance), drink a glass of wine and just watch them."  We may just do that. 

Personally, I can not wait for the honey!

*Disclaimer :: I am new to this and may not have used the right terms or even know what I'm talking about!  Although I do think I have the gist of it all and Mike is just a phone call away.

Bees, chickens, four garden beds...I'm bursting with excitement!