The Burchick
family became
beekeepers
today. With
one-day advance
notice from the
Maryland
Department of
Agriculture -
Honeyfield
Apiary, I was
told to come and
pick-up my bees
from a site in
Williamsport,
MD. I received
a buzzing box of
Italian
honeybees, fresh
from a NUC
(nucleolus bee
hive) vendor in
Mississippi.
This southern
variety is
particularly
well-mannered!
The vent
holes of the
boxed hive
were
discharging
warm air
generated by
the mass of
bees. Note
the pink dot
in the photo
(lower
center),
which
identifies
the queen
bee. The
2008
international
queen color
is pink/red,
hence the
color
documentation.
My neighbor
Jim Chaisson
is my bee
mentor
(white suit)
and he
helped me
establish
the hive.
With the
four hive
frames
installed,
exceeding
5,000
honeybees,
the hive is
now ready to
go and grow.
The bees
will take a
few days to
orient and
then let the
honey
production
begin!
We left the
box and lid
near the
opening of
the hive, so
that the
sluggish
bees could
make their
way into the
warmth of
hive
central. We
suspect that
tulip poplar
may make-up
a goodly
portion of
the local
nectar
source.
We placed
the hive
down along
one of the
two streams
and away
from the
purple
martin
nesting
boxes. We
placed
a heavy
stone on top
of the hive
to prevent
any raccoon
from
thinking
about
raiding the
hive for
honey.
The
boy's want to
call our honey
Burchick's
Bee Barf
(BBB).
