Saturday, April 12, 2008

Bringing Home the Bees!!!

We rode to the 4H Camp in Swannanoa in the king cab of friend Brian's pickup truck, four of us up early on a Saturday morning. It is good to have friends to help with the bee fetching. Tommy had brought a truck load of bees, most in cardboard boxes (nucs) for beekeepers both new and experienced. A crowd of eager recipients gathered in the morning drizzle, waiting for Tommy to call out their name from his yellow legal pad.

My bees were not in a cardboard box, but screened into their hive body. You can see them on the screen looking for a way out. I am pleased to say that I did not drop them.



We put them in the back of Brian's truck and strapped them down and drove them back home. After putting them in place in the back yard, we went out for a celebratory brunch. Thank you Leah, Brian and Catherine!!


Then I used my hive tool and my smoker for the first time (hive tool in hand, smoker to right in picture) and gently pried the screen off the front of each box.



I added a ziplock bag of sugar water to the top of each hive with a shallow super (the skinny top box) around the bag to prevent the squishing, put a piece of wood in the front of the entrance to give them less territory to guard while they get established, and welcomed them home.

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