It looks as if I have done a terrible job of keeping this section updated...sorry about that!
I have had my bees for two and a half weeks now and I have had an adventure or two with them! Shall we start at the beginning?
My bees arrived May 15th, a Friday. I had expected them a few days earlier than they arrived, but the delay just gave me more time to prepare myself to handle bees for the first time in my life.
I have had my bees for two and a half weeks now and I have had an adventure or two with them! Shall we start at the beginning?
My bees arrived May 15th, a Friday. I had expected them a few days earlier than they arrived, but the delay just gave me more time to prepare myself to handle bees for the first time in my life.
I confess to being a little nervous, but I set to confident that I could install the newly arrived package of bees without mishap.
The queen cage was supposed to be suspended from the top of the package. I think that I broke it loose while trying to get the syrup can out. Anyway, it fell into the bottom of the hive and one of my sisters saw it--thankfully, or I might have gotten a little panicked. The queen is the heart of the colony.
The next step was putting the frames into the hive. That was the most tricky because you don't want to smush the bees when you put the frames in.
By the way, my "brilliant" idea of using a chick watering tray is not one I would recommend to anybody else. I drowned a few bees in the feed...
Per suggestion of the gentleman whose "method" of beekeeping that I am primarily following, I left the cover off for a little while before putting it on.
I left them alone until sometime the next week. When I checked them, I found that they had already made significant headway in the comb building department. A chunk of it feel off one of the frames and I forgot that I could have tied it back on...so I brought it in.
The evening of the next Sunday (the 24th), as I came in from feeding the chickens, I went to go observe my bees a bit (it's already a habit). As I was standing there, the queen popped out through the bottom entrance! I was rather surprised to see her, since queens generally are "in-doors" creatures. Not only that, but she had no entourage around her--a bad sign. She seemed to be rather aimless--also a bad sign. She was sick. Not having any brood yet, I was in trouble. (Bees will raise up their own queen in an emergency, but one needs brood first!)
I started queen hunting the next day. Tuesday I scoured the hive for her, "just in case", but did not see her. I ordered a queen last Friday evening and Saturday my elder sister and I drove an hour out of town in the rain to pick up my new queen.
I started queen hunting the next day. Tuesday I scoured the hive for her, "just in case", but did not see her. I ordered a queen last Friday evening and Saturday my elder sister and I drove an hour out of town in the rain to pick up my new queen.
When we got home, I showed her to Grandpa and then put the entire queen cage on the bottom of the hive to let the new queen and the rest of the colony get used to each other before I let her out (which I did yesterday).
And that is where I am at two and a half weeks in as a beekeeper!