New Bees And A New Name
This is an exciting week for me in the apiary. Yesterday, I added three more hives to our bee family. They arrived from Georgia on a truck, with hundreds of other packages of bees late Friday night. This is what they looked like when I got them. Aren’t they the best present ever? I couldn’t wait to unwrap them.
To avoid confusion on the blog my overwintered hive has a new name – Crocus Hive, after the beautiful orange pollen these bees were bringing in a few weeks ago. I also designed a page dedicated to the history of the Crocus Hive from day one and will be doing the same for the additional hives. You can also get there by mousing over The Apiary link above and clicking on Crocus Hive. This should make it easier for both you and I to follow the progression of each hive’s development.
Interestingly, one of the new hives will be managed by my husband Brian, who only a year ago would not get within two feet of my bees, or anywhere near a frame. After I dragged him to multiple bee inspections and meetings over the past year and asked him to help me build all the equipment, he decided to take a beekeeping course and is now getting his own hive. Wish him luck! This is a big step for him and some of you may remember How One Little Bee Made My Husband Run Like A Baby.
A third hive will be joining Brian’s hive and the Crocus Hive on the roof and the fourth will be at an out yard a few miles away. If all goes well, I will be adding an additional hive as a split or a nuc in a few more weeks, which will make a total of five to start out this year’s beekeeping season.
From now on, I will be posting my notes from my quick hive checks as well as my more detailed inspections. This will allow you to see how the hive is progressing and let me track its progress as well. These will also be listed on each hives page for easy reference.
I’ll be writing updates on the package installs shortly so check back soon to find out how everything went. You can also subscribe to this blog right now with RSS Feeds or click here to Receive Our Free Email Newsletter.
This post was linked to the barn hop.
Other Posts You May Enjoy:
- Picking Up The Package Bees
- Blue Pollen, Honeybees and Siberian Squill
- Raspberry Honey Jelly Recipe
- Planting A Bee Friendly Garden
- First Spring Hive Inspection Of An Overwintered Colony – March 12, 2012