The bees have arrived!

After much preparation and anticipation our honeybees were finally ready to be picked up and transferred to their new home at the DHC. Simeon built a modified warré style observation hive with some gorgeous old growth wood from his building.

Wood and power sander.

Hive building in progress.

Amy tested out her antique bee smoker and discovered some newspaper from 1988.

This morning Simeon installed the hive at the garden and Simeon and Amy headed out to White Lake to pick up a healthy nuc of Michigan survivor bees. It was an adventure. There is no experience quite like an hour in a car with a slightly leaky nuc box. Some escapees were released along the way and several more had to be smoked out of the car upon reaching destination. But overall these ladies were undeniably friendly. And other than a frame of honeycomb that was stuck to the box the transition went rather smoothly. The bees are getting to know their new surroundings and cleaning out their old house. 

The upside of having a frame of honey fall apart... getting to taste some!

One straggler that didn't want to leave the car ended up in Ferndale and spent some time on Amy and Gabriel's flowering collards. 

Thanks for checking in. More updates soon as tomato planting time is drawing near. And as always we are more than happy to welcome helping hands. Contact detroitheirloomconservatory@gmail.com if you are interested.