Our replacement bees for the Green Hive are doing just great. But we decided to double our chances of having the bees survive over the winter by doubling our number of bees to begin with. So Sunday, Al the Bee Guy came down from Cortlandt Manor to install our second hive, now known as the White Hive. This summer, we’ve got twice the number of little workers helping us out in the fields and orchards.
The girls come in this little screened in box.
He went through the same process as the first time, which you can see on this post here: The Farm Gets New Bees.
The White Hive is a new hive, with no honey on its frames already. So we need to feed the bees. The wooden box on top of the hive is the feeder, which we fill with sugar water.
Now Al is checking the Green Hive:
And it’s a good thing he did, too. From the time he installed the replacement bees in April, the queen has been stuck in her little box! She couldn’t chew through the candy-like sugar put in the box to keep her alive during transit. The food was enough to keep her alive, though, thank goodness, and Al set her free.
We’ll be checking this week to make sure she’s laying eggs as she’s supposed to.
Thanks Al, as always!
YAY! Did the queen get out and about? I worry about her.
Queen is A-OK!