3 pounds of bees

So when you start your first hive you usually start out with a box of bees and a newly hatched and bred queen. They recommend starting with 3 pounds of bees for your first hive. They arrive in a box that has screen on both sides. Inside hangs a feeding can with sugar water in it and a cage that holds the queen. The workers came from another hive and the cage is there to keep the queen inside so that she does not fly off when you open the box, and to keep the new workers from killing the queen. From all of my reading the queen releases and pheromone and since the workers came from a different hive they don't know her. They see her as a usurper and they will kill her. The good news is that in a matter of a couple of days they will get used to her pheromone and they will swarm around and protect her. You would usually get the bees and install them the same day. I, however, had a party at our house and had no time to do it. And then there was Sunday, another busy day, and finally I got to introduce them to the hive on Monday. My good friend Adam was there to help me with the installation. He actually installed his first bees Saturday so he had some experience already. It was good to have him there.

The bees had swarmed around the queen and would sway back and forth as you moved the box.  It was one of the coolest things I have ever seen.  First you get suited up in long sleeves, tuck your pants into your socks, and get a veil on.  I decided to do the install without gloves.  Kinda scary, but worth it.

Now for the install...  First I took the box and I tapped it on the ground to get the swarm to drop.  Then you have to pry the can out of the top and slide the queen box out.  The can is a royal pain to get started.  It is heavy and you need to be able to pry both sides.  I used my hive tool and Adam's Swiss army knife to get it started.  Once I got the can out I slid the queen cage out and dropped a cover over the hole in the top of the box.  The queen was not marked and she looks much like the other bees.  But she is about a half a bee longer, and you can see that in how far her abdomen extends beyond her wings. 

Setting up the hive

So now that the hive bodies have paint and Adam installed the rails in the boxes we were ready to set the hives in place. We bought plastic hive top feeders, hive tops, queen excluders, and plastic frames. Last of all we got the tools needed to work on the hives. Hive tools, smokers, 2 veils, and bee brushes. I chose to install it under my water tank storage platform. There it will get some sunlight but will have shade during the hottest part of the day. There are some cross supports that are just the right height to bang your head on, but it is a good spot. We added 2 pressure treated 2x4's across part of the foundation, and shimmed them up in the back so that water will drain off of the hive. We are using a plastic hive base that has screen on the bottom. It also has two slots in the front so that you can have one half of the opening vent, and the other one open for access, both open for access, and then you can remove them both for when the hive is healthy and strong and it is pollen season. Now we are ready for bees!

Adam went with a little different approach on his hive location. He is in a windy area and did not have a spot with shelter. He put the hive up on cinder blocks and added a wind break at the fence line. I got a picture of his hive setup from him.

Building hive boxes

If I was going to have bees they were going to have to live somewhere. Some of the parts are easier to buy than build. The boxes are expensive to have shipped and they build them with finger joints. After looking into it Adam and I decided to build our own boxes. We got the specs we needed and knew that I was going to have to buy a finger/dovetail joint jig. I have always wanted one and this was the reason I needed. I went out to my favourite tool store in Livermore Tool Tech. I bought a Porter Cable 4212 jig to do the work. I had a couple of routers and bits and I figured that I was good to go. We decided to use dovetail joints rather than finger joints for the extra strength. It also allowed us to use one 6 foot piece of 1x12 to build the deep hive bodies.

Once we got the jig out of the box is when we realized that the bits included were all for a 1/2 inch collet routers. Both of us have 1/4 inch collet routers so we could not use the bits that came with the jig. I also figured out that my larger router had the wrong base for the dovetail jig guide. This meant that I had to use my smaller router that is designed for trimming formica/laminates. It is fine, but a little puny for this work. Thankfully I had a bit that we could use in a set I own. It took us a while to get the bit depth right so that the joints would be tight but we eventually got it. Once we got all of the adjustments dialed (5 hours of dorking) we had it down. We had made enough for 4 hive bodies and were just starting the 5th. Right at the end of the cuts I tilted the router, got the bit caught in the jig, and it almost sprung out of my hand. Needless to say I toasted the bit, marred the jig, and now had to decide what to do.  We went to Home Depot and bought another dove tail bit.  We brought it back and could not get the joints to come out right.  We decided to get a better router and do more with it later.

At this point I was happy that at least we had four boxes ready to build. We used the top quality waterproof wood glue and then used my brad nailer with 2 inch nails once they were square. They are some strong, good looking boxes. Adam took them home to let them dry and to get some paint on them. He put about 6 coats of a white deck/outdoor paint/stain. This should help the hives weather well. Interestingly enough you only paint the outside. The paint could be bad for the bees so they do not recommend you putting it where they live. And the fit does not have to be perfect because the bees will seal up any leaks in the hive so that they can keep the temperature constant.  Now we were waiting to pick up the bees April 3rd.

A good friend of mine, Adam Talbot, approached me and asked if I had ever considered having a bee hive. His wife asked him if he wanted to have a bee hive and he said "No way!"  From then on he was doomed to have a bee hive.  I told him that I would like to have a source of honey from around my house.  He offered to help build some hives and pay for the bees. Adam and I enjoy working together and we know how to get it done...  And this is how it all began.