Bees bees bees buzzing bees

Bee Hive Arrival

Our long awaited bee hive is ready!  MOH  (my other half) and I drove 30 kms  into the country just on dusk, passing grazing wallabies along the way.  We found the bee keeper, albeit passing the entrance initially only to back track and discover his driveway. This beekeeper had numerous hives, a large dam in which they could drink fresh rain water, bromeliads, varying flowers, and many eucalyptus trees.  He loves his hobby of beekeeping and entertained us with stories such as 'when the wind blows strongly and they arrive home, they get confused sometimes and you should see them fighting when some go to the wrong hive' or 'when a hive beetle enters, you can see the bees coral them into a corner'.
When we first saw our hive it was purely a joyous feeling.   So much planning and waiting had finally come to fruition.  There it was, with full honey aroma and glamorous white paintwork.

The brood box - the bottom box had been closed up ready for travel and the bees were very quiet.  We lifted it onto the back seat of MOH's ute, as we felt it was disrespectful to place them in the back tray.
Driving very gently, we arrived home 40 minutes later, at which time MOH gently lifted the hive out of the car and placed it in it's new home.

Then, you could hear a distinct buzz buzz buzzing noise from our Italian bees.

We opened the small lower entrance and let them rest for the evening.

The next morning, bright and early I rushed to inspect the hive, shown here with the strap still attached to the top. You will note the two bee 'bodies' on the lower entrance to the left and right.  The beekeeper warned us that we would lose a couple in transit, and bees being the very clean animals that they are, push the bodies outside of the hive.  Two however, wasn't a large number when you consider of the eight frames in this brood box, four are already filling with brood.  One, apparently is totally closed over with capped honey, but we have to wait until this weekend to open the top and inspect inside, as the bees have to recover from their initial trip.

The Lone Ranger

Two bees are better than one!

We are excited to welcome these gorgeous Italian bees to our household and I will publish new photos when delightful ones are taken.  Not only will our garden benefit from the introduction of a hive, but our lives have been enriched by nurturing a unique species.  Any organic honey we extract, will only be a beautiful bonus.

Cheers Merryn from the mid north coast of New South Wales.