Setting up a honey bee hive requires thoughtful preparation, beginning with selecting the physical location and ending with the careful introduction of the colony. This process ensures the bees have the best environment to transition from a transport container to a fully functioning home. Successful beekeeping starts with these foundational steps, which provide the newly installed bees with the resources and security needed to thrive.
Selecting the Ideal Hive Location
The location of a new hive profoundly influences the colony’s health and productivity. A proper site should receive morning sunlight, ideally facing the entrance southeast, which encourages bees to begin foraging earlier. The sun’s warmth helps the colony reach its optimal temperature for activity, but afternoon shade is beneficial in hot regions to prevent overheating.
The ground underneath the hive must be well-drained to prevent moisture accumulation, which can promote disease and mold. Placing the hive on a stable stand, such as cinder blocks or a purpose-built hive stand, keeps the bottom board dry and elevates the colony off the cool ground. This elevation also deters certain predators, such as skunks, from easily accessing the hive entrance.
Protection from strong winds is important, as excessive air movement forces the bees to expend energy maintaining internal hive temperature. Natural barriers like hedges, fences, or trees serve as effective windbreaks. However, the hive should not be placed directly beneath trees, where falling debris or excessive shade could become a problem. Accessibility for the beekeeper is also important, requiring a flat area with enough space to comfortably perform inspections without disturbing neighbors.
Beekeepers must consider local regulations or neighborhood covenants before placing the hive, as some areas have setback requirements. Forcing the bees to fly over a high fence or dense shrubbery can elevate their flight path above human head level, reducing potential interactions. A nearby fresh water source is also important, as bees require water for cooling the hive and diluting stored honey.
Assembling the Hive Components
Before the bees arrive, the hive components must be correctly assembled and placed on the selected stand. The standard Langstroth hive is a modular system, beginning with the hive stand and the bottom board, which forms the floor. The main hive body, typically a deep super that serves as the brood chamber, is placed directly on the bottom board.
Within the deep super, ten or eight frames are inserted, depending on the box size. Each frame holds a wax or plastic foundation to guide the bees in building straight comb. Proper assembly often requires nails and weatherproof glue to ensure the frames withstand the weight of honey and repeated handling. All interior wooden parts, including the frames, must remain unpainted to avoid introducing toxic substances.
After the deep super is filled with frames, the inner cover rests on top, providing space for insulation and ventilation. The final piece is the telescoping outer cover, which overhangs the hive body to protect the inner cover from rain. The hive stand must be level from side to side to ensure the bees build straight comb, though a slight forward tilt assists with moisture runoff.
Introducing the Honey Bee Colony
Installing the colony, whether from a package or a nucleus colony (nuc), requires careful handling and timing. Installation is best done in the late afternoon or early evening when bees are less active and more likely to settle into their new home. The beekeeper should wear protective gear and use a smoker sparingly to calm the bees before opening the transport container.
A package of bees consists of worker bees and a separate caged queen. Installation begins by removing a few frames from the center of the deep super. The queen cage is suspended between two central frames, allowing the bees to become familiar with her scent while they chew through a candy plug for her eventual release (a process taking 24 to 48 hours). The remaining bees are then gently shaken from the package box into the hive body near the queen cage.
Installing a nuc is often simpler, as it is an established mini-colony with a laying queen, brood, and drawn comb on several frames. The process involves removing the nuc frames one by one and transferring them directly into the center of the prepared hive body in the same order. The remaining space in the hive body is then filled with new frames. The transfer should be completed working directly over the hive to minimize bee loss.
Immediately following installation, the new colony must be fed a continuous supply of 1:1 sugar syrup to fuel their initial development. This feeding is necessary because the bees consume large amounts of energy to draw out wax comb on the empty frames, which provides the infrastructure for the queen to lay eggs and for the colony to store food. The sugar syrup, mixed with equal parts sugar and water, simulates an early nectar flow and supports wax production.
The beekeeper should check the hive after seven to nine days to confirm the queen has been released and is actively laying eggs. This brief inspection confirms the colony has accepted the queen and is beginning to establish the brood nest on the newly drawn comb. Continuous feeding should continue until the bees have drawn out all the frames in the first brood box and established a strong population.