Yesterday Annette, from Hansen Hives, stopped by to check on our queen bee and make sure she’d gotten out of her box alright. We had 6,000 bees delivered last week! There is something so magical about having this fortress of sweet, humming productivity buzzing away in the corner of our yard.
Annette said the bees will fill up the bottom box within a month. Then they add one more, which when filled will be their winter food storage (clever bees!) and then anything on top of that is for us!
Once Annette found the queen bee, she put her in this little cup with plastic mesh on top and she painted a yellow dot on the queen’s back so she’ll be easy to locate.
The bees had already started building out honeycomb. When you peeked into the hive you could see them strung out like little trapeze artists, clinging to each other’s legs, creating a living bee chain. It was the cutest thing.
If you live in the Salt Lake area, definitely check out Hansen Hives. You can host a hive while Aaron and Annette maintain it, until you feel comfortable enough to take over, at which point you can buy it from them; brilliant!
{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
that is SO cool. And I’m allergic to bees. I think it’s totally awesome and would LOVE to have a hive in my backyard. Really really cool.
loving your posts. how much space do you really need to keep bees? i know the hive isn’t enormous, but do they need quite a bit of their own personal space? you know, to avoid stings?
We had bees as a kid. This article made me wish I had paid more attention to how my dad took care of them and harvested the honey. I love honey!
:~D
so cool! and loads of fun. happy beekeeping!
Erin, the bees really don’t need that much space. Our house is on less than 1/10 of an acre in the city. You can “direct traffic” so to speak, by how you face the hive or planting something like bamboo right in front of it to make them fly up instead of out into your yard. It hasn’t been a problem at all for us; we love having them!
I am a bit jealous that you have your own Honey supply!
There are two things my wife and I would absolutely love. A large veggie garden and our own fresh honey!
A favorite treat: Bruschetta with Gorgonzola Cheese and Honey
Oh, I’m just squirming! I do love honey, though!
I grew up in SLC, next time I go to visit, I will definitely check it out. Thanks.
I was never really interested in bee keeping until reading The Secret Life of Bee’s a few months ago. Now I think it is the coolest thing. I’m so jealous. How will you harvest it and store it? You should totally have your own labels for the honey just like they did in the book. Such fun.
If you haven’t read The Secret Life of Bee’s I’d recommend it.
My great-aunt used to keep bees. They made the best honey I have EVER tasted. I have tried all sorts since then, but nothing ever came close to the taste and thick texture. Ah, honey and toast at Auntie Vera’s…
This is such a wonderful thing, and not just because you can have your own honey. Bees are a crucial link in our food supply and they are struggling to survive. The last issue of Eating Well had a really good article about the importance of bees: http://www.eatingwell.com/news_views/green/importance_of_bees.html
I’ve been thinking about getting some bees as well. And I’m in SLC, so I’ll have to check out Hansen Hives!
Hi, I’m Joy. I’m a lurker who LOVES your blog. I nominated you for a lemonade stand. Check it out if ya like. Happy moving.
My husband and I just bought our first hive of bees…from Jones Bees (also in the slc area). We are anxiously awaiting their arrival. They are amazing creatures!