1. After The Bees Arrive WHAT THE HECK DO I DO ?

2. 4 WAYS TO GET THE BEES 1. BUY PACKAGED BEES 2. BUY THE WHOLE COLONY FROM A BEEKEEPER 3. CATCH A SWARM 4. BUY A NUKE

3. Packaged bees 3 lbs of bees with a fertile queen and food for the bees

4. Set up hive Full colony with food, queen, brood and lots of bees

5. Catch a swarm Bees and the old queen– now you need an empty hive to put them in and feed them

6. Buy a nuke a 5 frame nuke with bees, brood and a queen

7. Setting up your hive from package bees If starting from scratch, a 10 frame hive should have 10 frames including wax foundations (called midribs) spaced evenly - otherwise the bees will fill the spaces with burr comb. These frames are drawn out by the bees for brood rearing and for storage of the pollen and honey. Cracks or large openings are filled by the bees with propolis – (a resinous substance). Now you’re ready –right? One more thing to do!

8. Make sure you wear your bee suit

9. Hive location Check to see if your hive opening is facing east or south– either one. Place the hive so it’s not exposed to prevailing winds– winter winds are hard on bees. Make sure you are not in a low spot where water can puddle up. Set your hive up off the ground at least a few inches on blocks or whatever you have. Check the local regulations in your city or county.

10. Installing the package of bees into your hive #1 The best time to do this is the late afternoon or early evening—until then keep them in a cool, dry and dark place. Have all of your tools, etc. required in place. (hive tool, brush and warm water, cover for the hole in the package, and small marshmallow ) Wet the bees (thru the screen) with warm water, using a brush - this keeps them from flying. Hit the package on the ground to dislodge the bees to the bottom of the package.

11. Installation of bees #2 While the bees are on the bottom of the package remove the can of food and slide the queen cage out - quickly put a piece of material over the opening. Remove the cork from the bottom of the queen cage and stuff the little marshmallow into the opening. Place the queen cage between 2 frames (in the middle of the hive) with the screened opening clear so the bees have access to the queen.

12. Installation of bees # 3 With the queen in the hive you are now ready to dump the bees into the hive– so remove the cover over the hole in the package and begin to shake the bees into the hive body on top of the frames. Once this has been done you should make sure that the bees are in the hive - then replace the inner cover and the telescoping top cover.

13. Installation completed—yea!!

14. What next #1 ? Don’t smile because you’re not done yet! The bees now need food– feed them a mixture one part sugar to one part of water– a good estimate is 20# to get you to the nectar flow. It’s up to you whether you use an inline feeder or a entrance feeder. The next step (in my opinion) is to block the entrance at least until the next day so the bees get used to their new home.

15. What next #2 This part of the job is done. The bees are housed and feed in their new home. Success or failure will now depend on the care that you give them. Leave the bees alone for a few days—disturbing them at this point could cause the death of the queen thru “balling “ or rejection After one week it would be safe to open the hive and examine it and remove the queen cage Make sure there is a constant supply of food

16. Checking your hive

17. If you are going to use a smoker, it should be a cool smoke and use the minimum amount necessary to calm the bees. Give a few puffs at the entrance first. Remove the top cover and gently give a few puffs of smoke into the hole in the inner cover. Wait a few minutes - then begin your inspection.

18. Checking your hives Checking hives should be done on a warm day anywhere from 10am to 4pm-you’re the beekeeper! Look for things like bees all over the front of the hive– this could be a sign of the need to ventilate the hive by tipping up the bottom hive from the front. Are there yellow jackets, wasps or ants on the bottom board? Check inside the hive. Since bees normally excrete body waste in flight, you should not see any signs of waste inside the hive. If you do this could be a sign of diarrhea.

19. What to look for at week 3 See if your queen is still alive and laying eggs– you should see a lot of sealed brood in the combs Don’t change the position of any of the frames in the hive – put them back in the same order that you took them out Remember—every time you open the hive you disturb the bees – keep it at a minimum The queen can lay up to 3,000 eggs a day and the worker bees hatch in 21 days so by week 4 young worker bees will start to emerge from the cells

20. Other things to look for If you don’t see very many cells with brood or if you see too many drone cells or a scattered brood pattern it may be advisable to re-queen. Re-queening should be done during a light honey flow or early in the spring. Check if the bees are drawing the combs. When 5 or 6 frames have been drawn out and are full of brood, pollen or food then you should add the 2 nd brood chamber. Wow ! Now you can take it easy for a while but remember—if you don’t want to get stung---

21. Don’t forget to wear your bee suit If you do get stung try removing the stinger by scraping it with a fingernail away from the skin!

22. Now you can smile! Any quest Aaaa Any questions?