On a recent trip to the beeyard, my eagle-eyed hubby spotted something unusual. Can you see it? I'll zoom in...
Yup, they swarmed and it's a good sized swarm of bees.
It was too high up to reach from the ground so hubby got a ladder. Unfortunately, there was nothing to lean it against other than a few spruce branches. It's pretty much propped up in the air. Despite that, he climbed up and I pulled against the ladder as hard as I could to hold it steady while he made his ascent.
He cut off the branch where the bees were swarmed and handed it down to me.
By the time I got to where the hive was set up, the bees had crawled up my hand.
Hubby took the branch and gently shook the bees off into the box.
There were a lot of bees but there were even more still flying around the trees so we figured we didn't have the queen.
Sure enough, the bees began to regroup into a second, smaller cluster. Hubby repeated the procedure of cutting off the branch and shaking it into the hive.
With a little coaxing and some gentle brushing, the bees began to settle into their new digs. This told us Her Majesty was inside.
Click the arrow below for a short video of what it's like in a bee swarm; the air is black with bees!
Yup, they swarmed and it's a good sized swarm of bees.
It was too high up to reach from the ground so hubby got a ladder. Unfortunately, there was nothing to lean it against other than a few spruce branches. It's pretty much propped up in the air. Despite that, he climbed up and I pulled against the ladder as hard as I could to hold it steady while he made his ascent.
He cut off the branch where the bees were swarmed and handed it down to me.
By the time I got to where the hive was set up, the bees had crawled up my hand.
Hubby took the branch and gently shook the bees off into the box.
There were a lot of bees but there were even more still flying around the trees so we figured we didn't have the queen.
Sure enough, the bees began to regroup into a second, smaller cluster. Hubby repeated the procedure of cutting off the branch and shaking it into the hive.
With a little coaxing and some gentle brushing, the bees began to settle into their new digs. This told us Her Majesty was inside.
Click the arrow below for a short video of what it's like in a bee swarm; the air is black with bees!
So interresting!
ReplyDeleteBrave! We get Africanized Bees here so they are very dangerous.
ReplyDeleteLots of bees! So now you have a new hive?
ReplyDeleteThis is exactly what I want to do within a year or two. I stood in the middle of a swarm when I was a kid with no protection and no fear. I didn't get stung once and managed to follow them to their new hive. When Dad came home, I told them where they were. I'll never forget the look on his face. LOL. :-)
ReplyDeleteInteresting, and kind of scary, too. I am not a bug person (and that includes bees.)
ReplyDeleteI don't understand. Were these some of your former bees that swarmed? Or were they a new group looking for a home. How was it that you happen to have an empty box for them. Very interesting but I'll leave this to you. I love the honey they make though.
ReplyDelete