The Bees Arrive

We left home at 1 pm to drive to Peats Ridge to collect the bees. There was a little confusion about the location of the paddock where we would meet the apiarist but by allowing plenty of time we arrived at 2.30 still 30 minutes early.

There were certainly plenty of bees. At a guess some 40-50 boxes each holding 2 nucs. We were only there 15 minutes. Enough time to transfer 4 frames into our box, marking the queen with a red dot on her head and securing the load on the ute.

The trip home was a little faster and the bees were installed in their new home. A puff of smoke at the entrance as the cover was removed to make sure they didn't all rush out at once and the job was done.

Newly arrived bees

To help them acclimatise better and ensure they have plenty of food a syrupy mixture of sugar and water was installed at the entrance.

Feeder installed

Home Hill Farm seems more complete now that we have resident bees looking after us.