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You are here: Home / BEEKEEPING / Bee Day at Fort Missoula 2014

Bee Day at Fort Missoula 2014

May 4, 2014 //  by Annie Bernauer//  14 Comments

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Friday was the annual “Bee Day” at Fort Missoula where beekeepers from across the region gathered to pick up their new supply of bees. Since this is our first year as beekeepers, we weren’t sure what to expect. There was a crowd of people ranging from babies to elderly folks. There were newbies like us  as well as some seasoned beekeepers. The conversation in the crowd buzzed with bee talk. It was so exciting!

Finally a truck towing a trailer pulled in. The trailer was filled with wooden screened in boxes. There were thousands of bees housed in the wooden boxes that had been shipped here from California. One of the organizers said there were over a million honey bees on that trailer! Each “package” or box weighs about three pounds and contains 12,000-15,000 honey bees. 

Bee Day at Fort Missoula Montana

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I was impressed with how they managed to distribute bees to such a large crowd. We basically all waited in a big group and went forward to collect our bees when our names were called. A man in a beekeeping suit cut the wooden screened in boxes apart since they came in groups of four. We ordered two sets of bees for this first year. Some folks ordered four, five and even twenty boxes! 

how bees are distributed when you buy honey bees

Once we picked up our bees, we headed back to the car. That’s when we realized our mistake in bringing the car instead of the truck. While the majority of the bees were housed in the screened in wood boxes, there were at least a dozen clinging to the outside of the screen. Eeekk!

how honeybees are transported when you buy them

The half hour drive home didn’t sound very fun with bees buzzing around the car. My husband was able to brush off the bees from the outside of the box. Then he quickly stuck the wood boxes in the back of the car before any lose ones were able to reunite with them. It was amazing, yet eerie, to hear the loud throng of “BZZZZZZZ” coming from the back of the car just on the other side of the seat from Little A’s car seat. 

wood screened boxes to transport honey bees and queen bee

thousands of honeybees buzzing on arrival of Bee Day at Fort Missoula Montana

 Luckily we made it home without incident but note to self for future reference: take a truck when picking up your bees!  

 

This post shared on: Homestead Barn Hop, Backyard Farming Connection Hop, Wildcrafting Wednesday, HomeAcre Hop, 

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Karla

    May 5, 2014 at 6:21 am

    I got my first two of pkgs of bees a week ago. Exciting times. When I got my bees they quickly took out the queens so I could see that they were alive. I was glass for that. I would not have thought to ask.

    Reply
    • Montana Homesteader

      May 5, 2014 at 8:57 pm

      We never thought to check out the queens right away. We were told that if there was something wrong with one of the queens we could contact the company and get a replacement one. Luckily both our queens were fine!

      Reply
  2. Mike @ Gentleman Homestead

    May 5, 2014 at 8:29 am

    Good luck with the new venture! I’ve never bought bees like this before and wonder if they’d do OK in the back of a pickup truck? Would the wind or temperature hurt them on the drive home?

    Reply
    • Montana Homesteader

      May 5, 2014 at 9:00 pm

      They came in on an open flatbed trailer so we’re guessing that the wind and temps didn’t bother them. If it was a really hot, sunny day I could see how it would be hard on the bees!

      Reply
  3. Lorri M. Baker-Davis

    May 5, 2014 at 9:39 am

    Very cool!! Bees are on my plans for next Spring 🙂

    Reply
    • Montana Homesteader

      May 5, 2014 at 9:01 pm

      That’s exciting Lorri! There’s a lot to learn when starting out but it is totally worth it, they are amazing!

      Reply
  4. The Couch Potato

    May 5, 2014 at 5:10 pm

    How exciting! Would it have been bad to put the bees in the trunk?

    Reply
    • Montana Homesteader

      May 5, 2014 at 9:03 pm

      I did see someone put their box of bees in the closed trunk of their car, I figured they probably weren’t going too far. Our car is a station wagon so the trunk is open- which made the trip all the more crazy driving half an hour with thousands of bees in boxes in the back!

      Reply
      • Prudence

        March 8, 2017 at 8:05 pm

        Kewl you should come up with that. Exclleent!

        Reply
    • Geraldine

      March 8, 2017 at 8:15 pm

      What I find so intrteseing is you could never find this anywhere else.

      Reply
  5. Vickie

    May 7, 2014 at 8:33 am

    I can’t wait to hear about your bee adventure! We were planning on getting some this year, but circumstances got in the way and now we have to wait until next year. So, I will be very interested to see how your first year goes!

    Reply
  6. Beverly

    May 9, 2014 at 4:17 pm

    What a great adventure you are doing. I can’t wait to hear how it all turns out. This would not work for me since I am extremely allergic to bees. Just the thought makes me a little scared. I couldn’t imagine being in a car with them.
    Bev

    Reply
    • Rosie

      March 8, 2017 at 8:52 pm

      Unllbievaebe how well-written and informative this was.

      Reply
  7. nancy w

    May 14, 2014 at 1:53 pm

    Love your posts on your new bees. We kept bees for years, such a wonderful hobby and the honey is so delicious! thanks for sharing your post on the HomeAcre Hop, I’m going to feature this post tomorrow! – Nancy The HomeAcre Hop

    Reply

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Hello I'm Annie and welcome to our blog!

I was raised in an old farmhouse in the country and taught by three generations of women in my family to cook from scratch, can and preserve food, nurture plants to grow, craft with my hands, and live a simple, meaningful life. Now I'm teaching my own children these skills on our little homestead in Montana. I'm sharing these vintage skills here so you too can live a simple, more connected homemade life- one canning jar at a time! Read more...

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