Installing Bees in Beehive

Although the 2019 winter was mild, my bees didn't make it through the winter.  I had fed them plenty of sugar syrup, and they had produced more than sufficient honey to make it through the winter. So I know it wasn't starvation. Could it be that despite mild winter, the hive was too exposed to cold winter winds? I'll have to find a way to protect the hive from cold winds next winter. In any case, when I checked the hive in January, the bees were gone, and I decided to install another package as soon as weather turned nice.

Jiya holding the package of bees

In March, I called Stan Wasitowski of S&F Honey Farms in Flemington, NJ, and placed my order.  Stan spends his winters in Florida and around early April he picks up the honey bee packages from Georgia in his trailer, on his way back to New Jersey.  Alas, COVID-19 has impacted the bee keepers business as well, and around the end of March I got a call from Stan saying that he won't be able to supply the package because transporting bees from Georgia could not be done due to COVID-19 situation.  

It was a glorious day to be installing the bees into the hive

That news got me scrambling to find another source. Adrienne Shipps, my colleague at Bayer, suggested Mann Lake, and a local bee keeper in Pennsylvania but also suggested to look around. Checking the NJ Beekeepers Association website, I located a local beekeeper Sallie at Beehive Barn in Cranbury, NJ, who had a few packages arriving from Georgia (Georgia seems to be the main source of bee packages for New Jersey).

Fortunately, Sallie came through for me and so on April 9, my nephew Prateek and I donned our masks and headed to Cranbury to pick up the bees. 

Although it is recommended that the bees be put in the hive as soon as possible, the bees unfortunately had to stay in the box for a couple more days due to inclement weather. Finally, on Saturday, the temperature rose to 57° F giving Jiya and me the perfect opportunity to install the package in the beehive. 

Enjoy the pictures

Here is yours truly, in protective gear

The first thing to do is take the can of syrup out

The Queen is supplied in a separate cage

Here is Jiya removing a few frames for the bees

There are about 7-8000 bees in the package

Part of the fun is wearing the beekeepers suite

The bees seem very gentle and landed on us quite softly.

Here is the hive after the bees had been placed in it