Final Bee Prep, pickup and placement

Friday evening and a good portion of Saturday were spent in making the final preparations of the hives so we would be ready to get our bees Sunday afternoon. Late Friday evening, I took an oak pallet and set it in place as suggested by one of the Master Bee Keepers we have in our club. Actually, James is working on the training program that will certify him as a Master Bee Keeper.  Once I was satisfied that the pallet was level and secure where it would sit as a platform for the hives, I picked it up and put it in the bed of the truck. I planned on putting the hives on the pallet as they would be sitting onsite and strapping the hives and pallet in the bed of the truck so we could drive to Donny’s house and get the bees transferred to the hives. I made the last few adjustments to the hives early Saturday morning. I wanted to be sure they would make the road trip without slipping or misaligning the multiple boxes making up the hive.

Once the pallet was in the truck, I put the hives on the pallet and strapped them tightly to the bed of the truck. I had to add strap hooks to the pallet so that once I got home with the active hives, I could strap the hives to the pallet as I used the tractor to move it from the truck to its permanent setting. Fortunately, I had all the little hooks I needed to do so. At that point we were ready to make the short road trip to pick up our bees.

While I was working on the hives this weekend, I also finished up my adjustments to the top bar hive. I attached legs and retrofitted the top to secure it to the hive as well as eliminate the multitude of openings it offered to predators. Wasp and other bees will rob a hive if the bee occupants are not able to guard all the potential entrances to a hive. I had to close up quite a few of those potential entrances. Once I was fairly certain, I had enough done to make it an attractive place for some bees to settle, I got the tractor and put the hive in the same general area as the typical beehives. However, once I go the new beehives set in place Sunday afternoon, I moved the to bar hive to a different location just in case it was too attractive to the bees we just brought to the farm.

Sunday morning Mama did not go with me to the service for fear there would be to many there. We are still abiding to the limitations set in place – whether we agree or not. We keep the attendance to ten or less. Most of those in attendance at the church are there for the production of the online service but we have a couple there just to cheer the pastor on during the preaching. The sermon was just what Mama and I needed. Acknowledging your fears to God and seeking his help in overcoming those fears. I got home in plenty of time to eat lunch and make sure we had all the equipment needed to make the transfer.

We arrived way early, but that did not cause and issue. Donny’s daughter Sarah met us at the gate to his property, got us signed in and took our check. A very efficient 10-year-old. We were given directions to the working site and Mama and I drove down the hill as directed and found Donny working with two other beekeepers who were getting their nucs. Some were being transferred into their hives. Others were loading the nucs into transport vehicles to meet up with beekeepers at a secondary location. Bees were everywhere. Mama and stood watching until it was our turn to participate. It was pretty exciting.  I do not know how many more transfers Donny had to get done, but there were only about four nucs left that I could see when I picked our two from those remaining.

Once in place, I got one hive out of the truck and placed it on the working table, put on my suit and hood and opened up the hive. Donny opened the nuc and worked carefully with me to get the frames transferred into our hive. We took out four empty frames and replaced them with the four full frames. Hundreds of bees on each frame as we made the transfer. Hundreds more were in the nuc box and had to be shaken into our hive. Donny showed me what I was to look for on each frame. We even found the queen on one of the frames in the first box. I did all the work transferring the bees to the second hive. Once we were done, I strapped the hives to the pallet in the bed of the truck, took off my suit and headed home. The whole process took less than thirty minutes.

Just that little bit of time working with the bees took a lot of the fear away. They are not as aggressive as I had imagined. The bee suit kept me protected should they have become angry and the hood kept the bees away from my face without obscuring my vision at all. While l set the hives in place, Mama prepared a syrup mixture to feed the bees. They will need a supplement for several weeks while we wait on nature to provide the flowers they need to feed naturally. I waited until after church to remove the screens I had placed over the opening to the hives. This morning the bees will be able to map their new surroundings. Hopefully, they will eat the syrup mixture.

Since I am in the office this morning, I will have to wait until this afternoon to check on them, but I am anxious to do so.