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.