A new series of posts for new beekeepers
This is the first in a series of posts designed to assist new beekeepers who are installing package bees this year. Thanks to Jim Coss of The Honey & Bee Connection, who provided the package bees and hives for this project, on April 8th I installed two packages of bees in new hives in my home apiary. Over the course of the 2012 beekeeping season, I will maintain and care for these hives in the same way as new beekeepers throughout the United States are doing. I will report on their progress at each step along the way – through the best of times and the worst of times. The posts will be accompanied by photographs to allow new beekeepers to compare the progress of their hives with mine. One of the difficulties for beginners is knowing whether or not their hives are developing normally, since they don’t yet have a sense of what normal is. This series is designed to help them with that question. When you read the next post, you will learn about the problem I faced on the first day, and how I handled it.
In addition to following the two hives begun from package bees, I will chart the progress of two nucs which I will be starting this weekend. Continue reading