Honeybee Pick-up Day: What to Expect
/Honeybee pick-up day is a pretty exciting day around here. Now that we've been doing it for a while, we've got it down to a pretty smooth operating procedure.
The colonies will begin making their way to us from their winter vacation location mid-week. Once the bees arrive here, we inspect each one to make sure they look good. We'll check for a healthy queen, plenty of bees, and food stores. The evening before pick-up day, we will head back out to the bee yard and seal up the entrances of each nuc to keep the bees inside for their transport in the morning. (You're welcome.)
Before pick-up day
Be sure you have your hive equipment ready to go. You will need, minimally, a deep hive body to place the nuc frames into. They won't fit in a medium box, so be sure you've got a deep!
Scope out the location of your hive. You don't want to move the bees once you place them in your yard, so be sure that the hive is located just where you want it.
Have your protective gear and tools ready. You might not need it on pick-up day, but you will want it when you move the frames into the hive.
If you plan to feed your new bees (your probably should), have a feeder and liquid feed ready.
On Pick-up Day
Pick-up hours are from 6:30 - 8:30 am ONLY
You will pull into our parking lot and one of our staff will check you off of the list and direct you to the pickup area
You'll drive up to the loading area. You can absolutely wear your new beekeeping suit if you feel more comfortable. No judgement here.
We'll load up your bees and you're on your way!
Check out our nuc installation guide for more info on that part of the process
There is a live Installation Demonstration at 7:00am in the apiary. Bring your safety gear and join us as we install a nucleus colony into one of the hives in our apiary. If you’ve never done it before, this is a great opportunity to see the process before you have to do it on your own.
What if I’m busy on pickup day?
We completely understand the dilemma created by not having a firm pickup date months in advance. Trust us, we’d prefer to be able to schedule this waaay in advance. Inevitably there will be some conflicts. In the event you absolutely cannot make it here to get your bees, reach out to your friends. YOU do not need to pick up the nucs. Anyone can come and get them and transport them home. All they’ll need to do is open up the entrance. If you cannot find someone to pick them up for you, then give us a call.
We want to be as accommodating as possible, but even more importantly we want the bees to be as healthy as possible and picking them up on the designated day is the best way to ensure this.
