Senga's Blog
Eco-chic Outdoor Living & Exterior Design
Apr. 9/10 Year in Sustainable Garden: Honey Bees Coming Home
The Bees Come Home!
Today we finally picked up our honey bees from our suppliers. We are about 6 weeks behind of schedule as packages of our ‘Nucs’ (packages of bees) was due to arrive from Chile. Tragically, we were informed that after a couple of weeks of delays the bees did indeed arrive and were in very bad shape.
So after some scrambling our supplier informed us that our bees were now going to come from New Zealand! Fingers crossed they did finally arrive and we picked them up. Interesting enough our 3.3lbs of bees (or 10,000 of the creatures) came in what could be considered a big drafting tube (see photo on right) whose ends were sealed with large plastic mesh cups. Little legs and antennae could be seen poking out through the mesh.
We have been told to place in a cool dark room to allow them to calm down and until we were ready to hive (introduce them to their home) the hives. And periodically spray the cones with sugar water. This 30% mixture of sugar and 70% mixture of water meant to feed and hydrate the bees after their long journey. No sooner had I sprayed the mesh cones then a million flickering tongues came between the spaces – they were thirsty!
We had only a few days before the bees were going to expire so we have to pick our day quickly.
Optimal Day for ‘Hiving’
The optimal time for hiving bees is later in the day when temperatures have had a chance to warm up. Also later in the day (supper time), the bees start to settle down for the night so they are not so interested in flying all over the place. Also, we were advised to pick a day when it wasn’t raining nor was the wind blowing. Either case could be a detriment to one’s successful home relocation of these creatures. In short it looks like tomorrow!
