We have found that the bees prefer to be  hived at dusk in the evening. There are less complications when doing so.
Some people insist on hiving their bees upon arrival. You are unlikely to gain any benefit from doing so. The workers will tend to drift or even fly away if you hive them in the middle of the day. We recommend you have all your equipment set up and ready to go so you can easily pour the bees at dusk. This way the bees will settle down as the horizon darkens.

One of the most important steps in hiving the bees is the inspection of the queen before she is installed in your hive. Our shipping boxes have a small yellow cap on the top. This is beside the larger hole where you will remove the workers. You will find the queen inside a plastic queen cage hanging on a short tab below the yellow cap.  We do this so you can remove the queen for inspection and installation. This allows you to do so without opening the larger hole where many bees can escape. We prefer to inspect our queens and have them securely installed before we shake the rest of the bees into the hive.

When you remove the yellow plug please lift it slowly until it is loose. Once it is loosened from the box a firm but gentle snap will help dislodge the bees clustered around the queen.  This makes inspection much easier. After you snap the clustered bees off the queen you can gently lift it out of the box and remove the queen cage from the hang tag. As soon as you remove the queen cage from the tab you should replace the plug to keep the workers from exiting the box while you inspect the queen. After inspection you should remove the candy tube cap and install the queen cage in the hive. Do not leave her unattended for any period of time before you pour the rest of the bees in the hive. She is susceptible to cool temperatures often present on spring evenings.  

Steps to hiving a package of bees:

1. Remove the bees from their cool storage area.
2. Separate the individual packages from each other if you ordered more than one.
3. Water the bees as needed.  (Spray Bottle)
4. Make sure your equipment is set up to pour the bees.
5. Remove the queen for inspection.
6. Remove candy cap from the end of the sugar tube.
7. Place the queen cage between the top bars of your frames.
8. Pour the worker bees on top of the queen and into the box.
9. Give the bees 5-10 minutes to settle down into their new home.
10. Lightly smoke the bees until the space between the bees and a closed lid is large enough where you will minimize the number of bees killed when you close the lid.
11. Close the lid and install a top jar feeder.