All package bees installed

All bee packages installed.

Anyone tired yet?

Better rest while I can.  Queen bees start coming in next week for making hive splits, the package bees installed earlier need another box, weather is getting close to being acceptable for mite treatments on overwintered hives, less than two weeks till I need to deliver hives to apple orchard for pollination, still more equipment to clean up from the dead hives. 

Although beekeeping is hard work,  I am grateful to the Lord for his blessings.  It is amazing to witness God's creation at work.  He created the sun, which the plants were created to use.  He created the honeybee to help the plants reproduce.  He designed into the plants the secretion of nectar, which the honeybees need and desire for their honey production.

Since the rush of life wants to crowd out what is truly important, make sure you slow down and take time to ponder and praise our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Super Stars

I forgot to mention that keeping Super Stars on staff comes with special challenges.

Super Stars can sometimes be very high maintenance.

Hunter & Mr Stoller caught in a rain-shower - so much for a break in the weather!

Other Super Stars think they can just sit around watching the work being done

"Monkey"

Beekeeping Mentors - Not just mentors, dear friends Part 1 of 2

"The" Mr. Wayne Stoller

Mr. Stoller grew up with bees and can remember being in the bee yards at 5 years old. His father ran 5000 (no, not a typing error) hives and moved bees all over the country.  (Just as a reference, our family currently runs under 500.)   Wayne has had many years of beekeeping experience and has shared a wealth of information with us.  I enjoy when we ride together in the truck, because I can ask him lots of questions, which he is careful to fully answer.   

The Stollers have been such a blessing for our family.  We first met Wayne and his wife Dorthy in our store.  Mr. Stoller came in one day after we put a couple of new  hives in our back yard and asked Garrett "what are those white boxes out in the back yard?"  Not realizing "who" Mr. Stoller was, Garrett was a little slow to realize what white boxes he was talking about and asked him "what white boxes".  Mr. Stoller said, "Well, those boxes you have stacked up in the back yard with a lid on them."  Then Garrett realized he was referring to the hives and told Mr. Stoller they were bee hives.  Mr. Stoller loudly hollered, "BEE's-  don't you know they could sting me when I come shopping?"  He is always such a cut-up, and keeps us all amused (and on guard) with his classic, gentle humor unique to himself.

Mr. Stoller always has a grateful smile on his face when he is in the bee yards.

You can always tell a great beekeeper.  They don't wear gloves!!!!  Which is why I'm just an ordinary beekeeper :)

 We started with 20 hives and Mr. Stoller always inquired about them when he visited the store.  When I decided to attempt full time beekeeping, Mr. Wilson (more on him in part 2) knew of another beekeeper  Mr. Hathaway who need to sell his operation.  Mr. Hathaway made us a good deal, so we went from 20 hives to 200 in a 2 week period.  Mr. and Mrs.  Stoller then came into the store a couple days after we finalized the deal with Mr. Hathaway.  Wayne asked how many hives we had again (not sure if he forgot or thought we would have killed some already).  When I told him 200, both he and Mrs. Stoller shouted "200" back at me.  It was quite humerous.  I explained purchasing Mr. Hathaway's operation and the desire to go full time.  They both said I should buy them out also.  I really had no idea what to think of their request.  We met a few more times to discuss details and see their building and yards.  They truly blessed us with an agreement we could afford.

There was one string attached to the deal.

Mr. Stoller gets to help us with our bee's.

No arm twisting required on that one.

Sweet honey for 2 sweet people

Wayne and Dorothy

As we look back on everything we are grateful to the Lord for his timing.  He provided the beekeeping business for our family at almost the exact time I had to make a decision on staying with General Motors.  In addition to the time when Mr. Hathaway and Mr. Stoller were looking to sell their operations.

Package bee installation

Package bees staged with the hives they will go into.

Each of these packages contains about 2 pounds of bees and a caged queen. 

Three to four combs are removed so the bees can be shaken into the bottom of the hive.

Ladies and Gentleman prepare yourselves for a real treat.

Sweet to the Soul Atkins Family Bee Farm is pleased to announce our first bee blog video.

Drum roll please.................

Hunter will now demonstrate the process of shaking bees into the hive.

Step by step

1. Remove cover plate and feeder can

2.  Remove queen cage

3. Tap package on ground to knock bees to bottom of package

4.  Shake bees into hive

5.  Replace frames

6.  Remove cork plug from queen cage

7. That tiny little box has the queen in it. Use nail to start hole through piece of candy (the bees will eat through the candy a couple of days to release the queen; the delay gives the bees time to get used to their queen - due to their great loyalty to their "old" queen, if you put this new one right in, the hormone shock will cause them to kill her).

8. Place queen box and a pollen "pattie" on top of frames

9. Place cover upside down on hive (cover gets turned right-side-up and empty queen cage gets removed in week - otherwise, the bees will fill that entire gap with "wasted" comb)

10. Replace lid

11. PRAY

Getting ready for package bees

Time to start rebuilding the bee colonies in the apiaries after the winter losses.  Here are some pictures as we prepare for the arrival of the package bees.    We spent the winter preparing the hives at our building.

Each replacement hive has 2 to 3 frames of honey, a frame or 2 of pollen, at least 3 frames of drawn comb (for the new queen to lay in immediately) and 2 frames of foundation which the bees will need to build their wax comb on.

Most of our apiaries are set up with 4 colonies (hives) on a pallet. 

(PS: if anyone has any spare good pallets my supply is running very low :) 

We try to run between 25 to 30 hives per apiary

All entrances entrances are closed with the working mans secret weapon (duct tape).  This will prevent the existing hives from robbing the honey we have placed into the replacement hives.

 Garrett is also inserting boards which close off the screened bottom boards until the weather warms up.  We have started cycling some screened bottom boards into our system as we replace and buy new equipment.  Screened bottom boards are supposed to help improve colony health.

Apiary ready and waiting the arrival of the packages