Our critter population has increased by about 600 and things are buzzing at Middle Fork Farm-- we’ve added two honey bee hives.
The hives started as kits with not just some, but all assembly required and no instructions. Even though Langstroth hives are really common, assembling them was not intuitive so, I opted for the 21st century default method–YouTube. After a couple of videos, I had a plan.
Normally, I’m pretty useless at construction projects but not this time! Bruce put together the 
boxes, aka supers, and I (proudly) assembled the frames, where the bees make honey. Each super has 10 frames that hang like folders and can be easily removed when full of honey. Step 1 was to use the claw end of a hammer to remove a portion of the top piece called the wedge cleat—which then gets reapplied later. Next, I used the staple gun to assemble the frames and checked each one to be sure it was square. I know as far as power tools go, the electric stapler isn’t impressive but for a novice it was still a little challenging as the staples didn’t always go where they were supposed to or as deep as needed to hold the frame together. Due to my skill level I made slow but steady progress.
The next part was inserting the wax foundation (ultimately where the honey is stored and eggs are laid, see http://galwaybeekeepers.com/bees-wax/ for a good explanation) into the frame. The foundation drops into a groove in the bottom of the frame and then the wedge cleat is set on the foundation wire and stapled to the top of the frame. This was even slower and more frustrating as the wax is limp and easily punctured. Each super has 10 frames and each hive has two supers, yep, that's 40 frames.
Once this was accomplished we were ready for the bees. My friend and experienced beekeeper, Marca-Maria and I picked them up in Remington from VA Bee Supply (http://www.virginiabeesupply.com/). When we got back to the farm Bruce was setting up cinder block pads for the hives on Possum Hill (so named because used to Doodle return from there regularly with possums. One day, she even got 2! Currently, she seems more interested in collecting cow bones. She’s added another vertebrae since this photo was taken).
Back to beehives…After Bruce leveled the hives on cinder blocks with the opening facing east, we set the slatted rack and bottom board, then the super, the feeder, and finally the cover. The second super will be added once these frames are full of honey.
Until spring comes into full swing, we need to provide the bees with food. Marca-Maria traded out one of our new frames for one of her frames that was full of honey. We also added honey water (1:1 solution) to the top feeder, which despite its simple appearance required another visit to YouTube as well as a phone call to VA Bee Supply.
Finally, we hived the bees--actually Marca-Maria did. First, wearing bee hood and gloves, she removed each Queens’ chamber from the carrying container and hung it between two frames in each of the hives.
Then she released the rest of the bees downward into the hive and replaced the top feeder and cover. We put the case by the entrance to allow the remaining bees access to the hive.
Two days later, we refilled the honey-water feeder, checked to see if the bees had started drawing out the wax (yes!), and if there was pollen in the bottom board (there was !).
Most importantly, Marca-Maria opened the hive to see if the queens had left their chambers and, hopefully, taken their nuptial flights. Since we didn’t camp out or have video surveillance we couldn’t be sure about the nuptial flight but both queens were out of their chambers and the hives were full of activity, which was a good indication that the deed had been done and the queens were with children! If you want to see an actual mating, check out https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaJ3K9qRVwo. This segment is from a British film about the global bee crisis called More Than Honey. They say it took 10 days to capture that 36-second flight!
Our last set-up task was a bear fence around the hives. Our good friend, Lois, told us that the Farm is a known black bear route—oh boy! Since Possum Hill doesn’t see a lot of activity except by a certain Australian Shepherd and during haying season, we decided that an electric fence around the hives would be a good investment. So, with a combination of planning, care, and luck, we’re hoping that it'll be a sweet year!
