Packages of bees are measured by the pound. There are 3-4,000 bees per pound so Monday I got two 3-lb packages of about 10,000 bees in each package and a mated queen. Packages consist of bees who didn't know that they were leaving home when they woke up on the morning they were poured into a box (package) with a bunch of other bees with a queen who wasn't their mother. If they were swarming bees, they would have filled their bellies with honey in preparation for the swarm. So it's like leaving home with no luggage. They have to draw wax and get started the minute they are installed but without honey in their honey stomachs so they have no resources to make wax. Even with the honey flow and stuff out there, they have to be fed and continue feeding until they stop taking the sugar syrup.
The initial worker bees in the package are not offspring of the queen, and may be any breed. They are usually Italian, as Italians are known to build up fast. The bees and queen have to become accustomed to each other and that's why she is separated at the beginning of this journey. The worker bees will eat thru the candy in her little box so she can get out and get busy laying eggs.
The worker bees draw out comb, collect nectar and pollen, and the queen begins laying eggs, and those eggs begin to mature and emerge. It takes about 21 days for the egg to grow into a bee. Meanwhile, the initial work force will slowly die off, hopefully to be replaced by young bees. The emerging bees are offspring of the queen, and will be true to the queen and her mates.
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| 0418 Hive #1 |
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| 0418 Hive #2 |
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| Bee Yard April 2018 |
Bees are amazing just like all the insects, birds, animals - we take so much for granted in our little world.
