Honeybees in Mississippi

Yes…. and we have pictures and video too!  This will be uploaded soon so check back!

I’m an avid reader of Mother Earth News and can’t wait for the next issue to arrive on the newstand (guess I need to get a subscription LOL)   This issue (OCT/NOV 2009) has a great article entitled “Keeping Bees Using the Top-bar Beekeeping Method”.  This is a great method for those who are just getting started in beekeeping and do not have alot of money to invest in hive boxes, etc.  The great thing about this method is that you can build your own “top-bar” hivebox for a reasonable amount of money!

I was very surprised when I went to the Mother Earth News website and found that they have the magazine article published online.  I highly suggest anyone interested in beekeeping to read this article as it is a very good source of information.

Keeping Bees Using the Top-bar Beekeeping Method

I was reading Backyard Farming and found out that September is National Honey Month :-)   So, I did a search and found www.honey.com which is the website for the National Honey Board.

There is alot of generalized information on the site including recipes and different uses for honey.  Here’s some info I found on the site:

Honey is primarily composed of fructose, glucose and water. It also contains other sugars as well trace enzymes, minerals, vitamins and amino acids.  Honey is “manufactured” in one of the world’s most efficient factories, the beehive. Bees may travel as far as 55,000 miles and visit more than two million flowers to gather enough nectar to make just a pound of honey.  The color and flavor of honey differ depending on the bees’ nectar source (the blossoms). In fact, there are more than 300 unique kinds of honey in the United States, originating from such diverse floral sources as Clover, Eucalyptus and Orange Blossoms. In general, lighter colored honeys are mild in flavor; while darker honeys are usually more robust in flavor.

I have so much to tell you about the bees!  The post office called my sister and told her that her bee shipment had arrived (you have to go to the post office and pick them up).   DH and I were driving to my sister’s house when we got the phone call from her.  So we headed straight to her post office.

It was kinda funny because 30,000 bees (about 3 lbs) were all inside this ventilated, wooden box.  The post office lady was very happy to hand it over to DH LOL.  After we picked up the bees, then we headed for my sister’s house.

This is what the box looked like.  Later, I found out that it was 1/2 of a hive body.  The person that my sister purchased  her bees and queen from, ships his bees this way instead of in a cardboard box or a mesh box.  I personally like his method of shipping because the bees were quite easy to transfer directly into the permanent hive.   

We took the top lid off which was a ventilation spacer.  The screen wire was under that and we could see a ton of bees!

Here’s a closeup of the screen with all of the bees behind it:

My Sister suited up with a bee hat, extra long-sleeved clothing and gloves (BIL just wore long-sleeved clothing and gloves)  Next it was time to remove the top…. so BIL got out the drill and screwdriver bit….

And moved the box of bees closer to their new home (the permanent hive).  It was time to smoke the bees which calms them.  Sister also read and saw online that spraying them with a sugar-water solution also helps to keep them from flying everywhere.

Here’s a pic of the smoker after it’s been lit…

This is my BIL smoking the bees:

And now, Sister is going to spray the bees on the top with a sugar-water solution:

Next it was time to take the top off.   Many of the bees started flying everywhere, but they were not aggressive.

Now it was time to remove the frames that were inside the box and place them into the permanent hive.  The bee box that was shipped contained 5 frames.  The permanent hive box contains 10 frames.  So BIL removed the center 5 frames from the permanent hive box to make room for the bees.  Now it’s time to place the bees into their new home, 1 frame at a time….

Sister tried looking for the queen but since we were trying to get them into their new home so quickly, we really didn’t have time to spot it.   The guy that Sister purchased the bees from had already introduced this queen into the hive.

In the bottom of the box was a wet towel that was placed for the bees so they would have water during transit.  Here’s a look into the box with a couple of the frames removed:

After all of the frames were placed into the permanent hive, BIL and Sister brushed any remaining bees into the new permanent hive…

Next it was time to add the next box and frames to the top.  This will give the bees room to grow.  First, they will fill up the 5 empty frames in the bottom box.  Here’s a pic of Sister adding the next box and frames:

Next, the “feeder” was added on top of the boxes and Sister filled it with sugar-water.  The worker bees can migrate to this top feeder box and get some of the sugar-water.  This helps to feed the hive until it can get set up enough and start making honey.

The top was added and the job completed!  Here’s a pic of the hive all setup and ready to go!

Here’s a picture from the side showing the entrance/exit for the bees:

And here’s a shot where I zoomed in!

I will post again today after Sister has a chance to go out and check on the bees this morning and I’ll give you an update.