Installation of New Bee Packages and Two New Queens into Two New Bee Hives in our Birds and Bees Backyard East Gloucester, MA

I had installed two Hives with Italian Bees last year which came from Jessup Georgia via Walter Kelley last year and had a lot of success with those two hives and some really 

wonderful honey last Fall. 

I was keen to add two new hives to the Abbott Apiary this year and ordered Bees from Walter Kelley again because I was so happy with last years bees. This time the Bee Packages came from Kentucky and they are Italian Bees too. This is a little photo journal of Charlie and I installing the Bee packages into new Hive Boxes this afternoon. We wanted to get the bees into their new homes ASAP so they could start producing and getting established. It is a little late this year but apparently because it was so cold in the south, the bees were not ready until much later this year.  I would have preferred to get them installed on the New Moon but 2nd choice is the Full Moon and it was definitely something I wanted to get done before tomorrows eclipse. The bees seemed a bit traumatized from their journey and there quite a few dead ones on the bottom of the package. I had received a call from the post office this morning and Charlie went down to the Post Office to pick them up. When he got there a few of the bees had escaped and were flying around. The postal workers said it was the most active bee package they had ever seen!. When I got home from work at around three o'cock I was concerned and we decided to get them into their new homes right away do we donned apparel and got busy with the Bees!!

Spraying the Hive Frames 

with Sugar Water and Essential Oils before

Shaking in the new Bees

Getting the Smoker Smoking!

Charlie puts on his Bee Suit

What a Cute Couple in their Bee Suits!

Charlie Shaking in a Package of Bees into New Hive Body

Shake Shake Shake

Looking Good!!

After we shook in the Bees on Two New Hives (one on either side of two established Hives), we set the shipping container near hive so any bees who didn't make it into the hive during the big shake out can find their way to the other bees and the new Abbott Apiary Condo we provided them!

So Happy the New Bees have made it to their New Home!!

Both new Hives have been installed with New Queens,  syrup cans, and  Shipping container left near by

The Bees have found the entrance and they are
going in and out. They seemed very
thirsty so we put some rainwater in a dish nearby
with sticks and leaves in it so they won't drown

Watching the New Bees get acclimated to
the Hive boxes was fascinating.

We love Sitting on our porch 

watching the Birds and the Bees

This is a close up of my Bee Birds and Bees Evergreen Garden
which Charlie pulled together this Spring. He bought me four pine trees and then we moved some other trees  and bushes from other parts of the yard to create a very pretty
landscaping feature near the Bee Hives