The bees arrived today! My dad and I picked them up at Agway on our lunch breaks and headed home to install the package into the hive. Driving with 10,000 bees in the back seat was slightly unnerving, not gonna lie.The actual installation was really pretty simple, and everything went smoothly. I'll check on the hive in a few days, to make sure they are eating the sugar water we gave them and see if the queen has joined the hive yet.
It was a little sketchy having thousands of bees buzzing around my head, but at the same time, it was pretty cool. So far, the only thing I don't like about beekeeping is tucking my pants into my socks... not cool.
The queen is still in her own cage, separated from the rest of the hive. There is a sugar cork blocking her exit from the box. Right now, the bees don't know the queen, but by the time the queen and workers have eaten through the sugar cork, she will be their queen.We convinced my mom to videotape the installation, which can be seen below. (Thanks Mom!)
Our next beekeeping class isn't for a month, but our instructor Jodi emailed us some advice this evening: Now leave your ladies alone. They should be fine. They've been doing this for generations.
...Continued...
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