First Inspection, One Week After Package Installation

Today I completed my first hive inspection and it went very smoothly.  Not only did the colony successfully release the queen, but I actually had the chance to lay eyes on her as well!  Locating the queen on any hive inspection is basically the main objective.  I thought locating her the first time was going to be a little difficult, but she clearly stands out from the rest of the colony.  She was actually quite easy to spot!

Not only was the queen released, but she has also started to lay eggs. I saw quite a few of eggs in many of the cells, however thank god I didn't see any queen cups or queen cells. I also never saw any capped brood, but its still probably a little too early for that. I'm good with seeing eggs at this point, at least I know the queen is doing her job well!  Along with eggs, I saw a lot of nectar and stored pollen.  The bees appeared to have drawn out a total of three frames so far, not too bad.

I've also noticed the bees don't seem to favor the sugar syrup very much, considering they haven't really touched it at all. However, they are eating the pollen patty pretty well. Hopefully, more plants will bloom in the area, not too many flowers at this point around my parents' home.  They had a Crab Apple Tree, but most of the flowers have fallen off due to rain and storms.  However, there are some giant rose bushes that could be blooming any day now.  So I'm crossing my fingers!!

I was a bit nervous at first, because when I first walked out to the hive today, there weren't nearly as many bees on the front of the hive as usual.  But, it has also been a cloudy, overcast afternoon, with possible rain showers this evening. But during the inspection, it appeared that most of the bees were actually in the hive.  However, they remained very calm during the entire inspection. I never once felt threatened by the colony.

One of the ladies. I rescued her from the watering bowl outside the hive.  A little wet, but at least she survived the swim!

Looking down in between the frames during the inspection.  The ladies have drawn out almost three frames so far.  You can see the drawn out honeycomb from here.

One of the three frames I pulled out.  Some workers have full pollen baskets, others were cleaning out cells, some were even building new cells onto the foundation.  Very busy little ladies.

Another picture of a frame.  Between a couple of the workers, you can spot a cell with some orange pollen in it.

I completed the main objective during my first hive inspection: locating your queen.  She is definitely alive and well.  I spotted eggs in some of the cells during the inspection. She's clearly doing her job quite well.  Also notice how different the queen looks from all the other bees in this photo. Note her long, extended abdomen.  Almost her entire abdomen is filled with eggs, that explains her length. 

Another picture of the queen during the inspection.  Lots of nectar and pollen in cells in this photo as well.

Another photo of the queen on a frame.

The bees were building bridges during the inspection when I pulled a couple of the frames apart.  They are amazing creatures for sure.  

~Nick

Day 1: Video Footage

I went out to the hive the day after installing the package to see what the girls were up to.  I was actually quite surprised.  Tons of bees were leaving and entering the hive and some were even coming back to the hive with full pollen baskets. It was incredible! The video I shot isn't the best quality in the World, but if you have the option to enable HD viewing on the video, I highly suggest it! Enjoy!

~Nick

The Girls Have Arrived!

After months and months of waiting, I finally got my package of honey bees on Tuesday! It was basically the best Earth Day ever. Sky Hive is finally up and running and I couldn't be more happier. I feel like the biggest nerd in the World!  I took some photos of the installation process (they aren't the best quality, but they will do the job).  Surprisingly enough, installing a package wasn't the least bit difficult. However, it took some getting used to having several bees crawling all over your body and buzzing around your face.  A veil, suit, and gloves are a must! Enjoy the photos!

Setting up the bee yard for the package installation

My 3lb package of Italian honey bees. The packaged bees normally come in a wooden box with two screen sides,  a circular cut in the top where a metal can full of sugar syrup sits, a queen cage dangling inside, and approximately 10,000 or so worker bees and a few drones.

Once you have about half of the frames taken out of the bottom super, you are ready to start the installation process.  I started by opening the package, removing the can just enough to slide out the queen cage.  You immediately replace the metal can to keep the bees from flying out.

You need to carefully examine the queen cage.  You won't be able to get every bee off the cage. The ones you see on the queen cage are most likely her attendant bees.  They keep her fed and cleaned within the package and within the hive as well.  First you need to see if your queen is actually alive (thank goodness, mine was). Check to make sure the queen isn't limping, walking slow, or acting abnormal.  Mine was zooming everywhere inside the cage and looked perfectly healthy.

Once you examine the queen and deem her fit to rule your colony, you're ready to move on.  Some queen cages have two holes, one on each end on the cage, the top or bottom.  My cage only had one hole at the bottom.  Placed inside the hole is typically a small cork and a piece of sugar candy.  If yours comes with a piece of candy your lucky, mine did not.  However, it didn't really make things that difficult.  Luckily, my parents had some marshmallows on hand.  I simply stuffed a marshmallow over the hole to block the queen from coming out.  This prevents the queen from being released into the colony too early.  Instead, the colony will eat through the marshmallow and release the queen on their own time.  After you ensure the entrance is plugged with an edible door, you simply hang the queen cage between a few frames in the bottom super.

After you hang the queen cage between frames, you're then ready to install the rest of the package into the hive. First, I sprayed the screened sides of the package with sugar syrup. The sugar syrup calms the bees, distracts them, and makes them sticky, which allows for an easier installation process.  Most people suggest that you first shake out a handful or so of bees over the area where you hung the queen cage.  It alerts the bees of the queen's presence, her location, and allows them to start becoming accustom to her pheromones, which ultimately leads to her release from the cage. Then you can disperse the rest of the package throughout the hive. Since I removed five frames, I dumped most of the bees into the empty space left by the removed frames.

Once most of the bees are shaken out of the wooden box, place the wooden box with the top hole facing toward the entrance of the hive. It allows the few straggler bees to escape the box, smell the pheromones of their sisters and find their way to the entrance of the hive.  Before placing the inner cover over the bottom super, I first laid a pollen/protein patty over the top of the frames. This gives the bees a food supplement giving them the strength and nutrients to start building up comb.

I then inverted the inner cover and placed it over the bottom super. I also added a bucket feeder for sugar syrup feeding.  The lid of the feeder has several tiny holes poked in the lid and when flipped over it causes a vacuum within the bucket which only allows syrup to drip out when the bees lick it from the holes. 

I placed the bucket feeder over the hole of the inner cover which allows the bees to crawl up to the perforated lid and feed off the syrup. Then most experts suggest you use an empty deep super to conceal the feeder to prevent robbing and to further protect your bees and hive. 

Finally, I placed the outer cover on top of the hive and cleaned up.  Everything went very smoothly and quite quick!

~Nick