Description
Setting up your bee farm kit in 3 easy steps
Gardening has never been so easy!
1
Install the bee house
Choose your location wisely. The bees might have trouble finding it if you decide to move it later. Here is what to look for:
- Plants/flowers: Find a spot within 300 feet of the flowers and plants you want to be pollinated
- Safety: Place it waist-high or higher, where it won’t be knocked over by house pets or ground critters
- Morning sun: The bees love morning sun best (do not face the home west if it will get afternoon sun)
- Dry: Keep your bees away from sprinkler spray and up off the dewy ground
2
Incubate the cocoons
We’ve designed your cocoon box with a breathable viewing window so that you can experience watching the bees as they start to hatch if you choose.
Option 1: Inside Hatching
Where to put your bee cocoon box:
- Lid ON. Keep the lid on your cocoon box the entire time you have it indoors. It’s ok, the window is breathable material!
- Keep ‘em close. Place the box somewhere you can easily keep an eye on your bees. A window sill is a perfect spot.
- Warm temps. The temperature is between 70-90 degrees. Your bees love warmth! If this range is not an option due to air conditioning or natural temperature, please move your bees outside or find another place within this range.
- Spill free. Be sure to place the cocoon box somewhere it will not be knocked over, spilled on, or threatened by any house pets. We don’t want Bandit the family dog to take off running with a mouthful of bee cocoons…and he probably doesn’t want that either.
Option 2: Outside Hatching
Cut the stickers that are securing the top lid to the bottom tray, remove the top lid of the box and place it in the bee loft (the space above the nesting tubes) in your bee home.
3
Wait patiently
It’s all about the time and temperature. The warmer the cocoons get, the faster they hatch. If they are in a cool temperature – indoors or outdoors- they will take a little longer. Here is what to expect:
Option 1: Inside Hatching
Option 2: Outside Hatching
Bees come pre-hatched to day 18 there will be some alive in the cocoon box, but may need a few more days for the cocoons to finish hatching. Your bees will start to wake up and mate right away. The mating will take only a few seconds.
Get your front row seat to nature in action.
Everything included except the lounge chair.
Arrival Day
Your bee adventure begins! Big smiles and pollen love is coming your way.
- Keep ’em safe. Don’t remove the cocoon box lid until you are ready to put the bees inside their home. Let’s keep them safe from accidental spills.
- Keep ’em close. Put your home somewhere you can watch the bee cuteness. Half-moon leaves and cocoons will be under construction!
- Hatch Inside or Out. Keep the cocoons inside to watch them hatch, or remove the lid and take them outside right away.
- Warm, dry, morning sun. No sprinkler surprises for our fuzzy-belly friends, please!
Bee Meets Flower
Bees are hungry! They go hunting around your flowers looking for food.
Flower Feeds Bee
The nectary in a flower is – you guessed it! – where all the nectar (bee food) is stored. Bees have to dig in the base of your flowers to get to the Nectary.
Bee Gathers Pollen
On the way to the Nectary, they pass the male part of the flower called the Stamen, it’s the part that produces the Pollen. When the bees pass this male part, the Pollen ‘accidentally’ rubs off and sticks to their little bodies. Basically, the Pollen catches a ride on the Bees.
Bee Delivers Pollen
When the Bees go to the next flower, they visit a part of the flower called the Pistel. This is the female organ, and it’s the part of the flower that receives the Pollen. This step is essential to beginning the process of fertilization.
The Love S-P-R-E-A-D-S
One flower isn’t enough! The Bees keep flying around, eating more of the Nectar and getting more of the Pollen on them so it’s constantly being collected and re-distributed around your flowers and plants.
Don’t you love the harmonious way nature works?
Bee Farm Kit FAQs
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How many Kind Bee Kits should I buy for my yard?
- Small apartment patio to urban yard: 1 Kind Bee Kit
- Larger suburban yards: 2 Kind Bee Kits
- Yards over 1 acre: 3 Kind Bee Kits
It’s not a science! If you have questions about your space or our pollinator houses for sale, please email us at hello@kindbeefarms.com. Remember, you need flowers and plants for these bees to find food or they might hire a moving van and move your bee home to another yard!
Where in my yard should I place my bee home?
LOCATION
- Within 300 feet of the flowers + plants you want pollinated.
- Somewhere where it cannot be knocked over or threatened by any house pets.
- Once you pick a spot, please try not to move the home or the bees might have trouble finding their new location.
- Height: Keep your home above the waist to prevent moisture and ground critters from bothering the bees.
- You can easily walk over, say hello to your bees, and experience the bee activity. Go ahead, enjoy!
SUN
- Your Kind Bees love morning sun, and do not love direct afternoon sun. Even though your bee home has an overhanging roof to protect the bees from too much direct sun, we recommend you do not face the home west if you put the home in an area that gets afternoon sun.
WATER
- Kind Bees do not like to get wet! Keep your Kind Bees away from sprinkler spray. The design of the home will protect them from natural rainfall.
How long will my bees take to hatch?
It depends on a few factors! Here’s the thing about hatching: it’s all about the time and the temperature. The warmer the cocoons get, the faster they hatch. If they are in a cool temperature – indoors or outdoors- they will take a little longer.
If you start by keeping the cocoon box indoors: expect 1-3 weeks, depending on temperature.
If you start by putting the cocoon box outside: expect 1-6 weeks, depending on temperature.
