In the middle of all of this insanity in May we got a hold of someone locally selling 'nukes' (the center part of bee hives that contain workers, some honey, and eggs.) From the nukes the new hive can be started.
We installed the nukes in hives on my parents farm near the chestnut trees so they would get more pollination for the trees.
The bees seemed to have settled in over time and filled out the boxes to the point we needed to get them a super, so last week we did.
Below are two unpainted 10 frame super boxes. We'd just gotten them together when I took the photos.
And painted. They are painted white and drying in the sun. The hives need to be painted to help protect the wood. The most common color is white though I've seen them in various colors before.
Some of the frames together and in the box they will sit when it's fully together. And below a single frame outside of the book so you can see what they look like on their own.
And a frame with the foundation on it, ready to be put into the box and added onto what is now the brood chamber of the box. We use wax foundations in our hives for a few reasons but one is when we decide to harvest honey (from another super we'll add next year) we'll be able to sell on the comb honey.
The next step is simply to take the boxes to the super and open the hives (my husband did a hive inspection since he had them open) then add the boxes on top of the other, put the lid on, and let the bees work their magic. My husband told me the bees were a bit upset when he started to mess with the hives, but as soon as he added the new supers they flew back inside and investigated them. (I didn't go with him to the hives because I'm allergic to bee stings.)
