New Queen : Via Overnight Delivery

Queen in her cage.

Here is our new Queen in her new hive. Upon initial installation the Queen is put in a small cage as the hive adjusts and accepts the queen’s scent.

Cam with his new friends!

The Installation – Bees on the Loose!

A close-up pic of the bees as they get acclimated to their new hive. Many people ask, and the answer is yes, the bees are free to come and go as they want. Short of blocking the entrance (which we do on occasion for specific reasons) the bees fly in and out of their own accord. Likely their first step upon installation is to send out a few bees to find a local water source and some initial ideas about where some good flowers are.

Photo credit: Gillian Bostock (http://www.gillianbostock.com)

The Installation – Year 2

Cam lighting the smoker.

Cam in action. Literally pouring bees out of the shoebox into their new hive (which is the old, original hive). This is not easy to do by yourself.

Yes, those are bees flying everywhere! The installation is exciting, dangerous, and fun. The start of a new adventure!

Note the small box in the middle right of hte picture. This is a small cage in which the queen is kept. She is placed in this box and sealed in with a marshmallow. The idea being that it will take a day or two for the bees to eat through the marshmallow to help the queen escape. During that period, the hive will become accustomed to her scent, and will accept her as their rightful queen.

Photo credit: Gillian Bostock (http://www.gillianbostock.com)

 

Double Double

The second hive is on the roof. Just awaiting the queen and her hive.

Cam and Mr. Combover Build a New ‘Super’

Cam and Mr. Combover building a new 'super' to hold the honey frames.

Day 2 (continued)

Continued from previous video, Mr. Combover and Cam finish the transition of bees into the hive, drown them in sugar water, mistakenly identify the queen bee numerous times, and at the 4:00 mark, a bee unceremoniously poos on the video camera screen…

Day 2 (continued) from justin kerr on Vimeo.

Day 2: Making the Bees at Home in the Hive (Cam gets a bee in his suit)

In this video we transfer the bees into their final hive home. A few highlights include: Cam getting a bee in his suit and screaming like a little girl (7 minute mark). Also, Mr. Combover and Cam mistake every bee for the queen bee (remember there is only 1 in the 10,000). Also Mr. Combover and Cam bravely start their adventure with no gloves, but it doesn’t take long for them to wimp out and put their gloves on…

Day 2: Making the Bees at Home in the Hive: Cam gets a bee in his suit from justin kerr on Vimeo.

Day 1: Putting the Bees in the Hive

Headed to the Roof