Box, Bee

Description

Pine and basswood painted dark gray/brown. 3 3/4" wide linen strip across the front of the box, above two oval holes side by side measuring 2 1/4" x 1 5/8". Steam-bent oak handle. Walnut door latch with fabric hinge. Bottom slides open.

Notes

Beekeeping was an important agricultural activity in Shaker communities. Honey and beeswax were valued products of the beehive, and the role of bees in pollinating gardens and orchards was understood by the Shakers. Ministry Elder Giles B. Avery (1815-1880), whose duties required that he spend time at both Mount Lebanon and Watervliet, kept bees at both locations. Avery maintained over 100 hives that were distributed through the different families at Mount Lebanon from the 1860s through the 1880s. A postcard showing two Shaker sisters "Among the Bees" at the North Family at Mount Lebanon indicates that hives were being kept by that family into the early 1900s. This swarm box was used by beekeepers to transport wild swarms of bees into hives. When a swarm was located, the cluster was shaken over the open door on the back of the swarm box until the queen fell into the box and the rest of the swarm followed her. The linen sides and top of the swarm box allowed proper ventilation while the swarm was carried to the apiary. The two holes in the swarm box were placed near the opening of the new hive and the swarm was coaxed into it. A sliding wooden panel in the bottom of the swarm box collected pollen that had dropped during transportation.