Ten Steps To Installing Bees In Your Beehive

In my last posting, I described what you get when you purchase a "package" of bees.  In this posting, I'll tell you had to get your new hive up and running.

Prior to receiving your bees, you should have your hive equipment prepared and ready to go.  For more information on this subject, check out my posting on Equipment You Need To Keep Bees.  When your package arrives, the queen will be in a queen cage located within the larger cage or package.  The exit hole from which you will extract the worker bees  from this larger package will be on the top.  It will be blocked by the can of sugar syrup which is used to feed the bees during transit and also a barrier so that the bees can't escape.  The queen will be located within the package in a separate queen cage.  Generally, the queen cage will be hanging from the top of the package with a wire or plastic tab. Now the fun begins.

Installing Bees In Your Hive

1. The bees will be clinging to the top of the package near the can of sugar water.  If you remove the can, the bees will immediately begin to fly out.  To slow them down, bump the package firmly on the ground.  The bees will fall to the bottom of the package.
2. Remove the sugar syrup can which is blocking the exit door to the package.
3. Remove the queen cage from the inside of the package and cover the package exit hole with whatever is handy to keep the rest of the bees inside.  I use a ceramic tile.
4. Now remove the cork that covers the candy plug on the queen cage.  In some cases, your queen cage may arrive with a cork plug but no candy.  If this is the case, remove the cork and plug the hole with a marshmallow.  Be careful not to let the queen escape.
5. Suspend the cage between two frames in the center of the hive with the candy end facing upward.  If you have a screen and wood cage, the screen should be oriented so that it is not facing the comb surface.  This allows worker bees to attend to the queen through the screen until she is released.
6. Bump the package down again to knock the bees to the bottom of the cage.  Now remove the cover and spill the bees into the hive.  You should also spill some onto the queen cage.  (To make this process easier, remove a few frames from the hive and then replace these once the bees are in the hive.)
   
7. Cover the hive.  In my case, I use a top hive feeder.  This is a device that feeds the bees sugar syrup for the first few weeks while they build up their own food supply.  I then put the outer cover to the hive on top of the feeder.
8. Since some bees will still be clinging to the inside of the package, leave it near the entrance to the hive.  Overnight, the remaining bees should find their way into the hive.
   
9. After a week, check the hive to make sure the queen has been released.
   
10. Leave the bees undisturbed for the next 2 weeks, with the exception of adding additional sugar syrup.

Below is a video on how to install a bee package created by Penn State University.  They use a different style of feeder than I do, but the basic procedure for installing the bees is the same.