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.
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!
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!
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.
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,
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.
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!
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?
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!
Very cool!! Bees are on my plans for next Spring 🙂
That’s exciting Lorri! There’s a lot to learn when starting out but it is totally worth it, they are amazing!
How exciting! Would it have been bad to put the bees in the trunk?
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!
Kewl you should come up with that. Exclleent!
What I find so intrteseing is you could never find this anywhere else.
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!
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
Unllbievaebe how well-written and informative this was.
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