If You Build It, They Will Come

So last year we had two hives of bees, both started from packages installed in the spring. Neither colony made it through the winter. We decided not to buy packages this year, and Trish said offhand that maybe some bees would find our hives and move in. Guess what happened yesterday? A swarm moved into one of our hives. Neither of us were home when it happened, but our housemate reported seeing a huge column of bees around noon. Now there is a lot of activity in the hive with bees going in and out.

Trish never cleared the honey and comb out of the hives, so we imagine that the bees are busy cleaning things up to their satisfaction. We don't think the old colony was diseased or anything, so there shouldn't be an issue with the new colony taking up residence. These bees are the first natural swarm we've had.

By the way, if anyone is interested in keeping bees this year in the Seattle area and is looking for a Warre hive, Trish does build them, so feel free to drop us a line.

A Hive in a Hurry

This week Trish hurried to finish a hive for our friends Yun and Jade because their hive split. The swarm of bees took up residence in their neighbor's yard, and they called a local bee expert to collect the swarm. The bees waited for a couple days in a screened (ventilated) box (courtesy of the bee expert) while Trish finished up building a hive. Then yesterday she went over and helped install the bees in their new home.

Meanwhile the two hives in our yard are very active, and both seem to be growing every day. Trish thinks the hive by the garden may split/swarm, too, so she is going to add a fourth box to the hive soon.

Remember that if you're in the Seattle area and interested in a Warre hive, let us know as Trish would love to build you one. You might very well be able to get a swarm for your hive as this is a great season for bees so far, and I would think that many local hives will split/swarm.

Buying a Package of Bees

When I first learned that honeybees are sold by the package, this sounded strange to me, as I couldn't make sense of comparing bees to other items that come by the package. I was picturing bees arriving on the doorstep like other brown cardboard boxes that come via UPS or FedEx or the postal service. I've heard that some people do in fact get bees by mail order, but this isn't how Trish orders her bees. She buys her bees from the Beez Neez in Snohomish.

If you're in the greater Seattle area, the Beez Neez is a great place to buy your bees. Trish orders a three-pound package of bees for one of her Warre hives. (They also sell four-pound packages.) The way it works is that you order online ahead of time (they are taking orders now!), and then you get an email notifying you about bee pickup day, which is sometime in April. On that day (well probably the day before), the bees are driven north from California on a big truck and dropped off at the Beez Neez warehouse, where they await pickup.

It's a unique experience to see a crowd of people lined up to get their packages of bees, but that's exactly what you see on bee pickup day. I know because I've been there! It was a little unsettling for me because there were a lot (A LOT!) of bees flying around, but the beekeeper/bee-retailer explained that these were just "hitchhiker" bees who had been attracted by the large number of bees (especially queen bees) all in one place. He brushed the extra bees off the sides of each package before giving it to the beekeeper who had come to pick it up. There were no loose bees in the car or anything like that.

Well, if you ever wondered, "where do you get your bees?" when you want to start a hive, buying a package is a great option. You can also get a wild swarm, which is a whole other story and not something we personally have done. For more about swarms, check out the swarms page on the Urban Bee Project site (also maintained by Seattle beekeepers).