Category: Bees

Paul has been waiting for the bees to arrive for several weeks. I heard this every morning:

Paul: Alexa, what’s the temperature today?

Alexa: Right now it’s 48 ‘. Today expect a high of 54’.

Paul: Argh! Alexa, when will it warm up so I can get my bees?

Alexa: Hmmm… I don’t know that one.

Finally! Today was a warm day. We drove to Orem to get the bees.

Did you know there are several types of bees? I didn’t either. They sell Italian bees, Carniolian bees, Russian bees, and Saskatraz bees. The different bee act in different ways. How do they act? That is for a later post.

We purchased $145.00 in Italian bees. Yup, $145 for bees! Why Italian bees? They say they are the best bees for first time bee owners.

Lots of bees in there. Every Container had 10,000 bees.

So excited!

See the bees on top? Paul just put them in the jeep with those to fly around us. It made for a fun ride home.

Bee bus, Ha!

The sound of 10,000 bees. The jeep was not running. Just the sound of bees.

Eli keeping an eye on the bees.

The large beehive will be at Paul’s parents. Paul and and Eli had to mow the pasture down.

The beehive foundation was built on cinder blocks.

A beehive is very simple. Base of the beehive.

The first box of the beehive. Beehives can be several boxes high. This hive will start out with two boxes, but will be three boxes high.

Second box of the beehive.

The beehive is stacked and locked with the hinge.

Looking in the beehive. Those individual slots is where the bees will make the honeycomb.

The top.

Add the roof.

This is a nice little house for those bees. I think they will enjoy it.

Each box of both beehives are decorated with carvings. Makes the hive look really nice.

Time for the bees!

Paul got dressed up in his bee gear. Net, hat and thick gloves.

This was my gear! 🙂

Marshmallow for the queen bee? Crazy, but it’s for her.

That metal tab is where the queen bee is.
The metal can is full of sugar water for bees to eat while they are traveling.

Paul removed the can to expose the 10,000 bees.

The queen bee with all her little bees feeding her.

The queen bee is in that little wooden box with wire mesh windows. Paul had to pop the cork out and replace the cork with the marshmallow. Why? So the other bees in the hive get used to her other wise they will just kill her. The bees eat through the marshmallow and release the queen into the hive.

Paul shook all the bees out. All 10,000.

After getting fiddling with the queen and putting her box in the hive, Paul spread out the bees and saw honeycomb!

The bees have to be fed for a few weeks until they make their own food. So we mixed 2 cups sugar and 1 cup water with a cap full of bee food.

Poked holes in the bag with a toothpick. The bees can then come and eat the sugar water.

We placed the bags of sugar water and some other kind of brown bee food in the hive and then covered the hive back up.

See the white comb the bees already made?

A metal plate to keep the mice out of the hive.

The bees are in their hive, warm, safe, and fed.

Good night, little bees!

Paul has been talking about getting bees for a while now. Worried about our small backyard and having a beehive so close to Eli’s sandbox, Paul decided to get two beehives. One large hive that will go in his parent’s yard and a small hive to go in our yard.

After researching the hive he wanted he finally purchased it and has been waiting for the snow to melt to get things ready.

This beehive will be mounted on a pole. So they dug the hole, positioned the pole, and poured in the cement.

My boys are having fun!

Lots a lot of work ahead to prepare the beehives for the bees arrival. Apparently the weather is still too cold for them. The weather needs to be around 60′ and it’s still in the 50’s. Hopefully we will get the bees the first part of May.