The Honey Bee Project

Apiaries and Blackberries

The Apiary

Blackberry bushes grow wild here in Woodinville, Washington. Blackberry bushes grow very rapidly. Long thorny vines from the ground will climb all over almost anything. After several years of growth blackberry bushes can climb over 12 feet. The vines of the blackberry bush are like long tentacles of an octopus. These long, thorny and leafy vines eventually will flower. Thousands of little white flowers make a wonderful source of nectar for the honeybees. The flowers will eventually turn into berries and the berries are the grand finale' of it's annual cycle. At the end of the season all the berries are either picked, eaten or fallen to the ground. The leaves and vines dry out and turn brown. This is the etude to winter.

This years project was to carve through the massive cloud of winters thorny vines and prepare a place for honeybees. The blackberry bramble on the east side of the Sammamish Valley, on the knoll of the hillside, exposed to the south, seemed to be the logical choice. Once the area was cleared, tilled and seeded, it was time to find some bees.

The Internet gave us opportunity to learn as much as we were willing. Next it was a trip to the local expert. We located the Beez Neez Apiary Supply in Snohomish Washington; owned and operated by AKA "Jean Bee". Jean not only stewards several hives of honey bees; she also teaches beekeeping classes and manages a beekeeping supply store for the community beekeepers. We were delighted to find more than just supplies for beekeeping. We found essential oils and candle-making supplies. We spent time grazing over the bee posters, calendars and books. I felt like a bee in a flower garden.

We were prepared when we visited the Beez Neez. We compiled a list of what we needed to get started thus shopping was a snap.

Here you can see all the components required to build the hive body; 4 sides, a top and a bottom.

Building the Hive Body
Assembled Hive Body Assembly of the hive body and frames required wood glue, 1 1/4" 8d nails and a hammer.

White is the recommended color for hives because it is a "cool" color. I used Varathane which left the natural wood color and grain to show through. This is also a naturally "cool" color.

We ordered two each of the 4 pound "nuclei" (starter hive) of Apis Mellifera (Italian Honeybee) from California (North America); to be delivered in March (as soon as the new spring queens hatched).

The 4 pound package of bees comes in a lunchbox sized cage like this. There are approximately 15,000 worker bees and 1 queen bee in a package like this. By the time the "honey flow" starts the hive population will have grown to around 50,000 bees.

A Nuclei of Honeybees

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