Episode-165- Install Bees To Langstroth and Top Bar Hives Part 2

The bee yard in the back yard.
The bee yard in the back yard.

Here is Part 2 of installing the new packages of honey bees. In this video I show the preliminary steps for putting bees in the top bar hive. This is a first for me but I have been preparing for it since before the hive was built in January. These bees were dusted with powdered sugar in the screened box just like the first package and then dumped into the top bar hive. The Queen cage was placed in the bottom of the hive. Next to her I place a pollen and grease patties. A small hive beetle trap went on the outside of one of the follower boards. I also took the extra step of placing a 24 inch by 15 inch piece of plywood on top of the top bars before I replaced the roof.

There is some follow up video because the actual installation of the bees was cut short due to film limits. In the evening I go back out to the hvie with the night shot on and plug up the entrance to help them stay put through the first night. In the morning I removed this at sun up and returned from work for some more filming.

There is some cool video with the rear window block opened. It’s a little cloudy due to the powdered sugar but the queen cage is covered with bees keeping her warm and nursed. Others are presumably busy eating away at the candy end to release her. The feeding system seems to be holding up well and I’ll be back to refill as necessary since it only holds a little less than a quart of sugar water, Honey B healthy and wintergreen mix.

Now there are three hives in the backyard just as it should be. Stay tuned for more updates on the hives as the spring progresses.

Resources

Song of the Day –  Jimi Hendrix – Wild Thing –  Live Video 

 

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