Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
If you've joined a local beekeeping club, ask one of the more experienced members to help you with
your first swarm. They are usually very willing to help, often for free or for a nominal fee, which is
what makes installing a swarm one of the least expensive options for starting a new hive. Take the
swarm to your hive and tip the bucket so it's near the opening of the hive and they are likely to just
crawl inside. Otherwise take the top off the lid of the hive and pour the bees onto the top of the
hive. As long as the queen goes into the hive, the worker bees will follow.
Installing a package of bees is much the same way. The only difference is you order the bees and
they are shipped to you with queen and workers ready to go. Your bees will arrive in a package
where all the worker bees are inside and the queen is in a separate compartment of her own. This is
by far the most common method because it's more reasonably priced than purchasing a new hive or
nuc, but it's easier and more reliable than trying to find a swarm. You can usually find a package of
bees for under $100.
A package of bees ready to install into their new hive. These are usually purchased by the pound.
(Photo courtesy of Meg Allison Zaletel)
During the shipping process the worker bees begin to become accustomed to the queen bee and
will start to accept her as their queen. The queen's cage is usually plugged by a sugary, almost
candylike plug that the worker bees will eventually chew through. Don't release the queen out of
her cage yet—let the bees do that on their own. By the time that happens, the queen's scent will
have been dispersed throughout the hive's workers and she'll be the accepted queen.
