It must "Bee" that time of year!

Spring is so officially here! This morning our honeybee packages came in. This year we only got two packages because we have bees that came through the winter. In a few weeks we will be making splits from them and expanding the apiary. I would like to get all hives up and going this year. 

This is what 3 pounds of honeybees look like. They had a long journey and needed to get out of there. They are clustered around the queen and a can of sugar water to keep her and them warm.

With the smoker going we were ready to go!

The small piece of wood on top is removed and under that is the queen and the can of sugar water. You have to be quick because they come out very fass.

This is a Queen cage and I have circled the Queen for you. If you see her, you can see her elongated abdomen. She must remain in here for a few days. When a queen is introduced to honeybees, she is not their queen so it takes a few days for them to adopt her pheromones'. If she is released too soon they will kill her.

I spotted this sweet drone hanging out on my hive tool. He looked like he was just waiting for everyone to settle down.

They are poured into the hive, their can of sugar water and a pollen patty is added. The Queen is surrounded by the workers and they are all set.

A feeder is added to the top with sugar water and some Honey B Healthy which has some Spearmint and Lemongrass oil for extra health.

So our honeybee season is underway! I will check in a day or two and take the cork plug out of the Queen cages so they can begin the process of releasing her.