Moving next door…..

My sister and I are building a little cottage nearby, just across the branch. My niece and her family will move into the big farmhouse. The builders tell us that we may be able to move in mid-May or early June. But today, I moved something to the new place – one hive of bees! My friend came and helped me “split” the hive – taking five frames of bees, food, and brood to make a new hive. The bees were calm as we divided them up and moved them a quarter mile away. Then I added a new queen to the box, and they were calm then, too. They will be happy to have her. These bees have made their own queens in the past, but this time, I thought they needed some new DNA. I’ll check on her/them in a few days, but in the meantime, I’m hoping they are all settling in, getting used to the new pheromones, and orienting to the new location. And when my sister and I relocate, I hope the same for us!