Honeychick Homestead

Homestead, Health, and Happiness

Tag Archives: Bees


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Don’t Bee Tardy for The Party!

That’s exactly what my next set of bees are, tardy!

I’ve been patiently waiting for my nuc to arrive. The nuc (a small version of a hive), was supposed to be ready last weekend. I called Mountain Feed  and was informed it won’t be ready for a couple weeks. We had some unseasonably cool weather a few weeks ago, and this caused many of the new queens to die. The supplier, Jeremy Rose of The California Bee Company is now working on re-queenig the nucs. Since I’ll likely be on vacation when they arrive, one of the beekeepers at Mountain Feed will keep it until I return. I’m excited to get these bees because Jeremy Rose is a beekeeper known for breeding gentle queens, with mite resistant behaviors. He wrote Beekeeping in Coastal California, which I’ve added to my “to read” list.

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Releasing the Queen

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This weekend was another exciting one! I needed to check on “Lorde”, and make sure the bees in the colony were ready to have her released into the hive. If they were calm, and not biting her cage, that would be a sign it was safe to release her.

This would be the first time I opened the hive by myself. I was nervous! According to the beekeeping mentors, during the release the queen sometimes flies away, or is dropped, stepped on by accident, and killed. Thankfully, nothing like that happened! When we got her out of the cage, she went right into the hive….Success!

Of course, my super assistant/husband was there to photograph. He’s also agreed to be nearby while I handle the bees, until I’m 100% comfortable doing it myself. I’m extremely grateful for his support!

Now for the pictures! View the pictures →

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Quick Update on Verbena Colony

Things are “buzzing” around here 🙂 Here’s a quick update on what’s been happening since I shook the bees into their new home.

The next morning, the 100 or so bees that I couldn’t shake in were huddled together, trying to keep warm. It was about 46 degrees out, so I’m surprised they made it. I was also surprised that I stood right next to them, and not one moved. By that afternoon, those bees made their way out of the package, and into the hive. Continue reading →