• Get suited up before you start, make sure you’re protected from potential stings.
• The bees need to go into an enclosed space – if you’ve got a screened bottom board they may get confused when seeking the queen’s pheromone and hang on the screen, the outside of the hive, or even fly away! So make sure the bottom is closed off. If you have a Flow Hive 2, unless it’s very hot, keep the vents closed. This will allow the bees to find the entrance rather than trying to use the vents as an entrance. If you’ve got a Flow Hive Classic, keep the corflute slider in the top position to prevent them from trying to enter through the screened bottom board. 

A Note About the Queen

• A package will contain a queen inside a cage, and the type of cage may vary depending on your area and the company you get your package from. Make sure your queen is alive and well before you start.
• The queen gives off pheromones that enable the bees to get organised. The bees will cluster around the queen to take care of her – so where the queen is, the bees will stay.
• Where you situate your queen will depend on your location and the weather.
  • If there is any risk of freezing, don’t put the queen at the bottom of the hive. If it gets too cold the bees will cluster at the top of the hive and she may freeze. 
  • If you’re in a warm climate with no risk of freezing, you can place the queen cage in the bottom of the hive. The bees will take a couple of days to free the queen, by then they’ll have started building comb and be settled into the hive. 
  • If you hang the queen cage between the frames at the top of the hive, the bees may start building comb from the cage, which is not ideal in a new hive. If you do this, make sure to remove the queen cage after a few days so that the bees will build their comb correctly on the frames. 
• You can also release the queen and leave her free in the hive. This usually works well when you’ve just got one hive, but if you’ve got multiple hives the bees might be more likely to leave and find another queen in this case. 

Instructions for Installing Your Package

• Remove the middle frames from your hive to make some space to add your queen and bees.
• Remove the feeding can from the package, you may need to use pliers or a hive tool for this.
• Remove the queen cage, then replace the feeding can so that most of the bees stay in the package.
• The queen cage will be sealed with some edible material, so the bees can chew through this to release her. Remove the cap if there is one. You can poke a hole through the food, which will speed up the queen’s release, but this is not strictly necessary.
• Now it’s time to add your bees. The best way to do this is to shake them out of the package and into the hive. Don’t leave the package on top of the hive and wait for them to go in, they may start building comb in the package instead of on the frames.

TIP: Don’t spray the bees with sugar – this will make them sticky and often drowns them.

• If you want to reuse the package, you can shake the bees out of the hole and into the hive. Or else you can cut away the screen and dump the bees out. This is the one time in beekeeping that you don’t need to be too gentle – when you want to knock bees off something. A quick, hard shake will be much more effective and ultimately less stressful for the bees than trying to gently tap them off.
• Once the queen and most of the bees are in the hive, you can replace the middle frames. The others will find their way back to the hive in time. Be gentle when putting the frames in, try not to squash any bees.

IMPORTANT: Pack the frames tightly together in the middle of the box. This should prevent the bees from building comb in the spaces between frames.

• When the frames are in, it’s time to put the lid back on. To avoid crushing any bees, flick them away from the top using a bee brush or a big feather. Cover the hole on the inner lid. This will prevent the bees from building comb down from the roof.

• If there are not many plants in bloom in your area, you may need to feed your bees, this will depend on the season and your location. If you’re unsure, talk to your supplier or other local beekeepers to get their advice.