Bees are here! Hiving a package of bees

I keep 11-12 hives of bees.  Over the winter-time, some of them usually die for one reason or another.  This year I lost 4.  Compared to a lot of folks, that is a pretty great survival rate, but I sort of like having a full compliment of hives.  Most years I make splits where I take some bees from a “booming” hive and put them in a new hive box (i.e. from the hive that died).  Depending on the year, I add a queen I get from a breeder or else I add a queen cell that I find in the original hive.

This year we ordered packages from a supplier in NC.  My in-laws drove down and back this weekend and picked up 4 packages and 3 new queens in addition.  On Sunday we installed the bees, made splits, requeened and generally had a good time messing around with the bees.  Installing a package of bees is about the simplest thing a beekeeper can do, but new beekeepers often panic at the thought of dumping bees from a box into the new hive.  I figured I would video tape my hiving a package of bees so anyone who might want to have a look can see how I do it!

Link to Video

(Try this link to video of the above didn’t work on your computer)

11 thoughts on “Bees are here! Hiving a package of bees

  1. Are all beekeepers as nice as you? I’m completely fascinated by beekeeping and want bees of my own, but don’t know where to start. I wonder if a local beekeeper would take me on as an apprentice?
    .-= Ceecee´s last blog ..Bird Bath =-.

  2. Very educational! Thank you for showing us the video.
    This may be a stupid question, do all the bees eventually “move” to the new hive or maybe some of them are stubborn and won’t leave the box?
    .-= YDavis´s last blog ..Weekly Menu =-.

  3. Any chance you can upload to youtube? Your video isn’t loading for me and I’m curious.

  4. Whoops, never mind.

    Very, very cool.

    That’s a lot of bees to have wandering around. And I’m impressed at how many levels of backup packaging/containment the new bees came in.

  5. You have had a string of really great, diverse posts recently! (I’m trying to catch up; so little time to read anymore…) I especially liked your piece on the evening you spent listening to Muslim speakers. Very informational and a refreshing change from what is published about extremist Islam.

  6. Warren,
    What fascinates me the very most, is that there are 100s/1000s of bees in one box. They are shipped with one queen and they all stay with her. One bee keeps the whole lot of them in one place.
    .-= Ceecee´s last blog ..The Sun and the Earth =-.

Comments are closed.