Hello from Missouri! I am a nebee - ordered my first hive and bees back in Feb. Got the hive in the mail in March and got the 3lb of bees with the queen this past Monday. Spent two hours putting them in the hive and watching them. Two bees got under my vail but didn't bother me. Didn't get stung until walking back to the house. A bee got under my jean pant legs and stung me. I don't know if I felt more sorry for the bee than for me!
I was concerned about getting the bees too late, but everything has worked out well. Our Japanese cherry bloomed a month ago, the peach, crab apple, and regular apple tree all bloomed a few weeks ago (we are in north central Missouri) near Dawn. Our wild plum trees and wild rasberries were early also, if fact, the wild rasberry patch near the house - that I spent several hours last winter cleaning out of buck brush and old canes) frosted just as our wild bees were really working it! I thought I knew something about trees until I started researching bee pollen and necter plants and trees. NOW I have found we have black locust as well as too many honey locust, we have bladdernut trees!, and basswood or linden trees on our farm! I already knew about the oaks and elms. I am really excited waiting for the linden trees to bloom. We have persimmon also but some of them must be all male or all female because they don't have persimmons on them. I see were honey bees like persimmon also.
Our native wild bees were in the blackberry patches last week having a "good time". I just have one hive but look forward to reading and learning on this forum. Everyone knows where Dawn is because the Post Master says the sun comes up at Dawn - ha!