Installing a Package of Bees
Yesterday afternoon we headed over to Wooster, OH to pick up the new addition to the Chiot’s Run Family. We now have an extra 10,000 ladies in the household. For those of you who don’t know what I’m talking about, we got our bees! We picked them up from Dave at Ohio Honey Farms, he has a few hives in his front yard (and this is only a small portion of them).
On our way home Mr Chiot’s looked at me and said, “This has the makings of a horrible nightmare. The story would go something like this, ‘I picked up my package of bees and all was going well. I heard something in the back of the car and then a swarm of bees attacked my face. I ran off the road into a ditch ….'” We had a good laugh about that on our way home.
When we arrived home we proceeded to follow Dave’s instructions for, “the easy way to install a new package of bees”. It’s much different than the way the books tell you to do it. We decided his way sounded great, and since he’s a veteran beekeeper we figured he knew what he was talking about.
First we pried to lid off of the box of bees, then we removed the can of sugar syrup and the queen cage (the queens come in their own little cage inside the bigger cage of bees). Then you put the small wooden lid back on to keep the bees inside until you want to release them.
Then the box of bees is placed in an empty super on top of the bottom board of the hive (lid on it’s removed after we get the queen cage suspended above). This process takes the place of banging the box of bees and then dumping them into the hive, this seemed like a much “nicer” option both for us and the bees.
We taped a piece of wood over the opening of the hive to keep the bees inside until we move them outside (this afternoon when it’s warm).
We then proceeded to hang the queen cage in a super with frames (the part the bees build comb on) above the empty box that has the bee cage in it. We wired her in so that the bees could still reach her. She will be released into the hive in 3 days (thanks for the question Christy).
Her cage gets placed over to the side so that the jar of sugar syrup that you put on top to feed them doesn’t drip on her and get her wet.
After placing the super with the queen on top of the box that has the bee cage in it, remove the lid from the box of bees below, then place a the inner hive cover with a jar of sugar syrup on top so that the bees have something to eat.
Then you put an empty box or two (we used 2 because they were small ones) and then the hive cover to keep them warm and to keep them inside.
It was a much easier process than we were expecting, thanks to Dave’s great installation instructions and the cold weather which makes the bees pretty lethargic.
Mr Chiot’s says, “Bee suit is optional”. We only have one bee suit, so I wasn’t wearing one (I decided I didn’t want one, I’m going to be brave and do without). We only had 10 bees that “escaped” when we opened the box, and they were all caught and put into the hive. So our bees are quietly tucked in the garage, waiting for us to put them outside later today when it warms up. We checked on them at midnight last night and all of the bees were out of the original box and clustering around the queen cage just like they’re supposed to.
We’re trying to come up with a name for our hive, any great suggestions?
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Busy Busy Bees
Mr Chiots and I have been busy busy bees the last couple days. I’ve been spending every waking warm sunny hour out in the gardens preparing a new garden bed (photos to come on that next week) and in the dark hours of the day I’ve been getting my office work finished. We’ve also been busy attending local bee club meetings (we’re joining 2 local clubs) and reading books on beekeeping.
We’re super excited about the coming of our bees on April 7, but we’re a bit nervous as well. Last night at a club meeting we had a great discussion with a very knowledgeable beekeeper that really helped out. I can’t wait to see how it all goes this summer, I’m glad you all will be along for the ride. Perhaps some of you will decide to take the plunge next year.
What do you think, would you ever keep bees?
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Tri-County Beekeepers’ Association Workshop
On Friday and Saturday Mr Chiots and I attending the Ohio State University Extension and Tri-County Beekeepers’ Association 31st Annual Beekeeping Workshop. We really learned a lot and had a great time, we even saw an old friend who’s getting into bees this year as well.
The workshop started on Friday evening with a tour of the beekeeping museum, which was very interesting. It was really neat to see the different kinds of hives and all of the old tools, I especially loved this old glass sided hive.
After the tour, we attending a honey tasting session. I think this was the highlight of the seminar for Mr Chiots! It was very interesting to taste all the different kinds of honey that come from different flowers and different countries.
There were light honey and dark honey as well as honey from clover, citrus, sage, tupelo, buckwheat and many more. Next time I am at a good grocery store I’m going to try a few different kinds of honey.
We each picked out a favorite; Mr Chiots really liked the dark buckwheat honey and I loved the Manuka honey from New Zealand.
The second day of the workshop was full of learning seminars for all kinds of beekeepers. Since we’re newbies, we attended all of the classes for new beekeepers. They were very informative and we learned some great things.
There were also some instructional workshops going on in between sessions. Mr Chiots and I learned how to wire up our frames for our hive, which we’ll be doing next warm day we get.
Overall it was a very informative seminar, I’m really looking forward to getting my bees in April.
Would you ever keep bees in your garden? Or are you scared of them? (take the poll)
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Just What I Wanted to Hear
I’ve been reading through Keeping Bees And Making Honey
Unfortunately, some of the most spectacular garden flowers are of no use whatsoever to the honey bee. Double headed roses, chrysanthemums and dahlias, provide no nectar and hardly any pollen. In contrast, many flowers that are often discounted as weeds, such as dandelions and forget-me-nots, provide a rich source of food. That is why one of the best and easiest things you can do to make your garden more bee-friendly is to throw away the weedkillers that maintain those immaculate lawns and let your lawn and your flowerbeds go wild.
This is the kind of thing I like to hear. We’ve already gone organic, so no chemicals & weedkillers are used here at Chiot’s Run. But I still spend hours and hours pulling weeds. I think when I have bees I’ll be seeing all these weeds in a different light. Those dandelions will look like tasty honey in my tea.
I’ll also be incorporating a few more pollen rich flowers in my gardens. I have forget-me-nots already and those seed down easily so I’m going to try to move them throughout the gardens. I also have a ton of echinacea that the bees love, and they spread like weeds since they’re a native plant.
Even if you don’t have bees it pays to have some native plants for pollinators and butterflies. You’ll be cultivating a natural environment which will be a refuge to these beneficial insects since so many other gardens are full of pretty but useless flowers and so many people use chemicals and pesticides on their lawns & gardens. So I think this year I won’t cringe when I see a yellow dandelion in the lawn, I’ll smile knowing I’m doing something beneficial for the bees.
Are you willing to let weeds grow & bloom for the bees and other beneficial insects? Have you ever planted a flower or plant just for an insect or bird?
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Guess What’s Coming this Spring
Guess what I’m reading up on for the new addition to the gardens here Chiot’s Run?
That’s right, beekeeping. I’m hoping to join a local beekeeping club and get my first hive this spring. My grandpa & dad used to keep them and my dad has a box hive he’s going to give me. It’s painted bright white and it has a copper roof, it will be lovely in the garden (and I’m going to be quite smashing in that hat).
I think this will be a great addition to our gardens. I always buy local honey from local beekeepers, but I would like to make my own. That way I know that it won’t have pesticides or chemicals in it. Warren from My Home Among the Hills keeps bees. I’m sure if I have any questions he’d be happy to help.
Anyone else out there keeping bees? Or do you just buy local honey?
