After last week’s excitement of installing the bees, most of the week was about watching and waiting. Unlike the first weekend, when it was sunny and warm, the following week was raw and wet. I’m not home during the peak of the day. When I was home early in the morning and early in the evening, there was no sign of the bees outside the hive. I peeked under the top cover every day or so to be sure the feeder was full. They were busy eating so I knew they were in there, but outside the hive it was very quiet.

The next big event came towards the end of the week when it was time to open up the hive and check for the queen’s release from her cage. Again, Laury and I did this together. We started at my house.

The moment I lifted off the inner cover, I could see that I hadn’t pushed the next frame close enough to the one with the queen cage on it. The bees had been very busy building wax comb, but they filled the gap with a new layer of comb. Beeswax covered the queen cage, so I couldn’t see what was what. It seemed that the best thing to do was close up the hive and call Nancy, my bee guru. Her store is only open Thursday nights, and though she was there, she was busy, and I was told she’d call back.

Next, we went to Laury’s. There, everything looked great. There was some extra spurs of wax buildup (burr comb), but we could easily see that the queen cage was empty. We removed the empty box and the rubber band and admired the bees for a minute or two before closing up her hive.

Last stop of the evening was Nancy’s store. It’s not too far from Laury’s house, so we drove over, hoping to get advice about what to do at my hive. The Beekeeper’s Warehouse on a Thursday night is a happening place. The shop was filled with beekeepers buying supplies. As everyone was settling up, Nancy answered a full complement of bee questions. For my issue, she said I needed remedial help (i.e. fixing it was too advanced for a beekeeper of one week), so we scheduled a house call for Saturday.

Saturday, Nancy came by. Laury too, and another new beekeeper, Karen. Nancy helped up suit up properly with our veils. Then, we opened the hive. Nancy is such a wonderful teacher. She walked us through each step, encouraging and correcting, teaching us tips and tricks that aren’t as obvious just by reading.

The root cause of my extra comb problem was how I had placed the frames. The gap I mentioned left more than the expected bee space, 3/8 inch, that the bees prefer, so they filled it in. Nancy delicately removed the extra layer of beeswax and set it aside. Once the queen cage was exposed, we could see it was empty!

Because of the extra disturbance to remove the wax, Nancy wanted to be sure the queen was still at home. This gave her a chance to show us how to properly examine frames. We only needed to look at a couple before we found her.

We also confirmed that Queen Lola is laying eggs, right on schedule. The books describe the eggs as looking like a grain of rice standing on end. The eggs are tiny and a bit hard to see until you get used to what it really looks like. I think it more closely resembled an old man’s gray whisker.

After that, we put everything back together, with Nancy again teaching and reinforcing proper techniques.

The rest of the weekend, as I was weeding the garden (or just standing by observing), my bees were very busy coming and going. The most obvious thing I could see when they returned to the hive was that many of the bees’ pollen baskets were filled to the brim. Pollen is the bee’s major food source for protein. The honeybees have little saddlebags on their legs which they stuff full of it to transport it home.

Now, other than checking the feeder, the hive gets left alone for the week, at which point I open it up and check it out again, not to actually do anything for the bees, but to see and learn how things progress within the hive.

Click here to read the previous bee post

ee Day was Friday! I hadn’t been sure about the exact arrival date, but I learned on Friday morning that Nancy had just returned to Massachusetts with the bees (from Georgia). My friend Laury is also starting a hive, so we left work mid-afternoon and headed over to pick up our packages.

You may wonder, if you are starting a hive, how do you get the bees? They come in little wooden crate. The package contains a queen, some food, and three pounds of bees, that’s about 10,000 bees. Nancy, the beekeeper providing us with bees, had about 200 of these packages in her back storeroom at the Beekeepers’ Warehouse. The first thing Laury and I did was to check out this sight. It was amazing how quiet the room was. There was a very faint hum, but it was unexpectedly soothing, rather than creepy.

Next, we reviewed how to install the bees with Nancy. Just the idea of transfering the queen and then dumping 10,000 bees into the hive is intimidating, to say the least. Practice builds confidence. Nancy has empty equipment in her store, so we did some dry runs.

Then, we picked out our bees, and we were ready to head home. Friday evening was cold, with a frost warning, so she recommended we keep the bees in the house for the night and settle them in their new homes on Saturday morning.

Laury and I had some discussion about whether to put the bees in the trunk or in the footwells behind the front seats. We were feeling comfortable, so we took them in the car with us. At home, I gave the bees some water and made them comfortable in the basement. Apparently, Laury’s spent the night on the dining room table. I think Bella would have been a little too curious for that at my house.

Saturday morning, the big day! I like to be prepared, so when I woke up, I watched a video of someone installing bees. Then, Howard helped me set up the hive itself, which I had built and painted, but hadn’t yet set in place. (I added the hive stand at the last minute, so unfortunately, it’s unpainted.) I got all the expected equipment at the ready, and when Laury came over, I brought the bees out from the basement and we got started. Laury helped tie me into the veil and hat, and I donned dishwashing gloves. Howard was designated the official photographer and caller of 911.

First, we pried open the wooden box and removed the queen in her case. She’s marked with a blue dot. She has some attendants, her actual daughters, in the case with her. She’s trapped in the box with a piece of candy. The bees with eat the candy over the next few days, and she will be released. In the meantime, the bees are adapting to her pheromones so they know they belong together. I poked a hole in the candy to make it easier for the bees to break through.

I attached the queen’s case to one of the frames with a big rubber band.

Next, we removed the can of food from the box and covered the hole back up while preparing for the dump. I thumped the box a few times on the ground to shake the bees to the bottom and then, in a scary moment, started pouring the bees into the hive. It took about a minute, a few extra thumps, and then they were in. Some of them started flying out and around, so I was glad to be wearing the veil for protection. I don’t think they would have stung me, but the barrier gave me more confidence.

I had removed some frames from the hive to make room for the bees, so before closing it up, I had to replace the frames into the hive.

The last step was to place the feeder on top, enclose it with an empty hive body, and cover it all with the weatherproof lid.

An hour later, we repeated the same process at Laury’s house. Cheers and hugs all around, our girls are home.

It has been fascinating to watch the hive come alive over the weekend. There is was a busy hum all day, then, at dusk, all the bees went inside and it beomes very quiet. I found myself spending time just sitting on the lawn and gazing, mesmerized, at the hive. It’s soothing rather than nerve-wracking. I’m also amazed how I was immediately comfortable with bees crawling on me. I even coaxed a few (like the ones that ended up inside the veil when I left it on the table) onto my finger to relocate them closer to the hive.

For the next few days, I will leave them alone, other than checking that the feeder is filled. On Thursday, I will open the hive for the first time to be sure the queen has been released.

Now, I’m officially a beekeeper, and I’ve very excited about watching and helping their activities through the seasons.

Note: The drop case B above was created by Jessica Hische of Daily Drop Cap. The letter is copyrighted by Jessica under the Creative Commons license.