Welcome, Honeybees!

We finally got our honeybees! Say hello to our thousands of new, tiny friends! These are the honeybee colonies we purchased last year, from local beekeeper Kan-sensei. However, it was too late in the season to safely move them, as winter is a difficult time for colonies. Bee health is top priority! So, our bee mentor was happy to babysit them at his bee yard. We patiently waited until springtime, just after the risk of near-freezing temperatures passed, and just before the sakura cherry blossoms fully bloom. This is the perfect time to move them safely.

Look how happy they are, displaying a fanning behavior. The lady in the middle has filled her “pollen pockets”.

The process of moving the colonies was twofold: First, we moved the compact “nucleus” colonies from Kan-sensei’s bee yard to our bee yard. Once we opened their front door, they immediately started exploring their new location.

We got to witness my very favorite honeybee behavior: orientation flights! They all fly out of the colony, turn around to face the hive, and fly in concentric circles. This allows them to orient themselves to their new location, and helps with finding their way home! It’s also very cute.

The next day, we physically moved their frames from Kan-saensei’s “nuc” boxes, to their permanent hives. This involves actually opening the boxes and moving each frame individually, so it also gave us an opportunity to inspect the colonies for good health. We even spotted a few of our new queens! Now, they’re settled into their new location, they’ve memorized which colony is their home, and they’re already going out to forage pollen and nectar.

Now we have nine honeybee colonies split between our two honeybee apiaries. The sakura cherry blossom is beginning, so we should see a lot of activity and growth in the coming weeks. In preparation, we’ve ordered our honey jars and are designing jar labels! We’re also growing lots of baby plants to bolster their food sources and improve the ecosystem. Keep an eye out for Benton Homestead’s local Ōmishima honey at the ‘Michi No Eki’ farmers markets soon.

Our YouTube video, which shows the process of moving the honeybee colonies into their new homes ⌄