Honeybee Package Installation

Preparing the Hive

• 1

  Assemble the hive and place it on the hive stand in the location selected for the apiary. Make sure the front of the hive slopes downhill slightly to help water to drain off the hive.

• 2

  Install the entrance reducer into the front opening of the hive. Reducing the size of the entrance protects the new hive from being robbed by other bees.

• 3

  Remove half of the frames and set aside.

Preparing the Package

• 4

  Put on the bee suit and gloves.

• 5

  Spray the package containing the bees with a 1 to 1 sugar solution. Turn the box as needed to make sure the bees are well coated with the liquid. This will limit how much they are able to fly.

• 6

  Ease out the can of sugar solution and set it aside. Be careful to grasp the metal tab so the queen cage does not fall into the box. Remove the queen cage from the box and gently brush away any bees holding onto the outside of the cage. Set the lid back on top of the box to prevent bees from escaping.

Installing the Queen

• 7

  Examine the queen to make sure it's alive.

• 8

  Remove the cork from the end of the queen cage with the white candy fondant. Do not remove the second cork, which will allow the queen to escape.

• 9

  Poke a hole in the bee candy using a toothpick or thin nail.

• 10

  Suspend the queen cage vertically between two of the center-most frames with the candy side up. Push the frames together gently to help keep the queen cage in position.

Installing the Bees

• 11

  Spray the bee package again. Set the box into the opening created by the removed frames. Remove the lid from the package so the bees can come out of the box. Close up the hive and provide the bees with a full feeder of syrup. Leave the hive undisturbed for 24 hours.

• 12

  Return to the hive the next day. Open the hive and remove the box. Lean the empty box against the outside of the hive with the opening facing up. Any bees left in the box will find their way into the hive.

• 13

  Replace the five additional frames and close the hive.

Checking the Installation

• 14

  Return to the hive 48 hours later and check to see if the bees have released the queen. If not, remove the cork from the other end of the queen cage and return it to the hive. Close up the hive.

• 15

  Check the hive two to three days after the queen was released to check for eggs, brood and syrup collection. If there are no eggs or brood present, the queen may have died or she may not have been bred properly. Contact the supplier about a replacement queen.

• 16

  When the wax foundation on at least eight of the 10 frames has been drawn out, add a second super with 10 frames with wax foundation.

• 17

  Continue to feed the bees until they stop taking the syrup.