Bee Day at Bee Well in Pickens - Redeaux

This morning we went to Bee Well in Pickens to pick up our bees for hives 2 & 4. The owner donated 20 packages of bees to new Beekeepers who completed our county's extension club training. There was a drawing at the end of our last class and my husband and I each won a package. Packages of Italian bees are selling for $80 this year, so winning was a much appreciated surprise.

Hive 2 is mine and I plan to install the Queen differently this time to see if I can avoid a mess of burr comb. We shall see. I'm using a very small nail to place the cage with strap onto one of the middle frames. I'm adding a rubber band to hold the cage against the foundation. For Hive 1, I only used a rubber band. When I went into the hive for the first time, the cage and burr comb fell into the bottom of the hive. It was not a pretty sight.

The weather is rather cool today for mid-to-late April. I had planned to use the hive top feeder with this package, but have reconsidered due to the expected low temp of near 40 this evening. I don't want the girls to be without sugar water because they can't leave the cluster, so I'm using 2 quart jars on the bases that my husband made.

Hive 1 appears to be doing well and I am going to leave them alone for at least another week before opening the hive to check their progress. I did place a hive top feeder on their hive last Sunday and opened the top only on Thursday to refill.

Another day of working for the Queen.

~ Donna