Installation

Installing a BEEcosystem beehive is pretty straight forward, but needs to be done carefully. After unpacking your hive you will find it comes with a z-bar hanger to mount on the wall. This is both for indoor and outdoor usage. For indoor usage you can connect a (flexible/transparent) tube of 1-1/2″ (40 mm). That serves as extended entry/exit point for your bees. The transparent tubing is most commonly used indoors but can also be used outdoors. In case the bee hive would be located in between crowds it would make sense to apply the tubing and make sure the bees can fly out on a height of 2 meters.

When you are setting up your indoor BEEcosystem it is important to decide where the bees will enter and exit. Also keep in mind one beehive can weigh up to 25-35 pounds (once filled with bees and capped honey) so the chosen wall should be able to support the weight. After picking the perfect location to install your hive the first step is to mount the supplied z-bar bracket. Please make sure to use appropriate plugs and screws to hold the potential maximum weight of your setup. If you are installing multiple hives please do it together with someone as it makes life much easier.

After mounting your wall bracket you can simply put up the BEEcosystem beehive already. Please make sure to measure the distance between the hive exit and the window or other fly-out point of the bees. After that the tubing can be cut to size and applied between the hive exit and the window or place you decided on where the bees will exit.

Find a suitable location. Preferably, the location should be under an overhang or blocked from inclement weather. BEEcosystem beehives are solid cedar constructions, designed to hold up in the elements even without treatment such as tung oil natural staining. Finding an ideal covered location will prolong the life of the hive.

Depending on the wall material, simply screw or drill the mounting bracket to the desired location on the wall, and then hang the BEEcosystem hive on the bracket. As stated, with outdoor units there normally is no reason to use the transparent tubing. We do recommend to at least saving the supplied piece of transparent tubing in case you would move the hive indoors. If you feel more comfortable using the transparent tubing on your outdoor setup, please feel free to. It is a great and simple way to have the bees fly out in another direction without moving the hive itself.

Installing bees is always done outdoors, as well for all hive maintenance. You can start your own colony in a BEEcosystem hive in multiple ways. One way would be to start with a fresh swarm and install them in your hive. Simply shake the swarm in the hive, close it up and hang it on the final destination. Once it is in place you can open up the bees entrance/exit and enjoy your colony.

Another start would be to order yourself a package of bees. In almost all cases they come in a wooden box with a can of sugar solution to feed the bees and a separated queen and her colony. The easiest way to install them is to transport the queen into your BEEcosystem hive and make the rest of the bees gently follow the queen. You can also gently shake the package after you have put the queen in to make the remaining bees join the hive.

One package of bees will fill up one hive with comb within a couple of weeks. Day by day you will see them work and build comb at a very fast pace. If you install your bees early Spring and there aren’t a lot of resources for the bees to fly on outside, you can use the top feeder hole to feed your bees with a one to one sugar/water solution. Simply mix it up in a basic vegetable jar, spike 3-4 tiny holes in the top lid of the jar and put it upside down on the hive. Mixing it up is best done with boiled hot water after which you let it cool down to the room temperature of the bee hive before putting it up.

Looking for detail? Please download and read the User Manual (.pdf) by clicking or tapping the button below!