Midnight Bees Transfer to permanent TBH

Time: 12:30
Weather: 90 degrees, sunny, no wind.

Transfered my midnight swarm on the Peczuh Farm from my swarm catching hive to a permanent TBH (42 inch).

Wasn't sure how they'd behave so I took my gear (just in case). Ended up not using it. Very gentle bees.

They had built 4 combs of wax already (in just four days) and were busy filling them with nectar and pollen.

Slightly cross combed with some attached to the end of the box. Collapsed one comb trying to straighten it. Moved the other three (on four bars) as one unit.
Placed top bars with 1 inch wooden comb guides (rubbed with bees wax) to either side of what they had built - hope this straightens them out. Combs are too new for much manipulation.

Dumped the rest of the bees in (along with dried mud and sand from the bottom of the swarm box (didn't have a proper bee brush). Note to self: Get a proper bee brush. Left way too many empty top bars between the follower boards as I could not get the bees I dumped to move out of the way to place the follower board where I wanted it. Hopefully in a couple of days I can remove them - tighten it up a bit.

Did not see the queen. Nor did I see any eggs.

Placed the new TBH about six feet further north with the entrances on the west (instead of the east)
This confused some of the foragers who returned to where the swarm catching hive used to be. They just started hanging out on the pallet where it had been sitting.

Checked back after work and all had found their way inside.

Midnight Bees

I got a call yesterday afternoon at about 5:30. My buddie's wife had seen a swarm of bees across the street from the their house (likely from one of our three langs in his back yard).

I've been waiting for this moment for over two months now. I've kept a small 9-bar TBH in my trunk all the time so I'd be ready when the call came.

When the call finally came, however, I was three hours away on work and no where near finished with the task at hand. It'd be at least another two hours before I could leave and then a three hour drive to get back home to where the swarm was.

He told me they were still flying and hadn't settled on anything so he'd keep an eye on them. He also told me that he didn't think they'd go far as it was just starting to lightly rain.

I had bees on the brain but went back to work. He texted me a while later to let me know that the bees had finally settled down and that they were now on the ground. I was worried that they might be queenless. I couldn't figure out why they'd bee on the ground with plenty of trees in the area. I'd heard of swarms losing their queen and becoming disoriented and "lost".

By the time I got home and over to his house it was midnight... and raining steady. The temperature was in the 50's. It would have only been worse if it were windy. I guess I can be grateful for that. We grabbed the flashlights and headed up the hill. The girls were in an area of tall grass balled up on a culvert in a ditch. They weren't even inside the culvert but rather balled up on the end of it and on a water gate to the side, out in the open and in the rain. They were completely drenched. I'd never seen such a sorry bunch of bees. At first glance they weren't even moving. I had to look close to determine that they were even alive.

Nearby and just up the hill, there was a large cottonwood tree with many low branches that, in my mind, would have made a much more suitable swarm site. I wonder if the scouts that chose the culvert were fired.

If the situation wasn't sorry enough, I was wearing shorts, a t-shirt and did not have my veil. I did however borrow a pair of gloves from my buddy.

I attempted to take a photo with my camera phone and the light from a flashlight but it didn't turn out very well (see photos). I then used my digital camera but without a working flash, it didn't turn out much better. As bad as the photos are though, they still show the sorry state of things.

I set up the TBH next to the ditch and went to work. Holding the flashlight in my teeth, I placed a piece of curled up cardboard into the culvert under the bees and began brushing them off the pipe and onto the cardboard, dumping the cardboard into the TBH about half a dozen times. I then was grabbing wet handfuls of bees from here and there and dropping them into the TBH. I cleaned up as many as I could (some had fallen into the ditch) but many were in the mud and tall grass and I could not get them. I placed the TBH as close to the ditch as I dared and covered it and the surrounding area with some pieces of cardboard to keep the rain off the remaining girls, hoping that they would find their way into the TBH.

After about twenty minutes, it was clear that the bees in the mud and grass were not interested in moving at all. I picked up a few more small clumps that I could reach, and packed things up hoping that I had the queen. I placed the hive in my trunk and drove it about 5 miles to a small farm where I had arranged permission to place the bees. It was now 1:00 am and still raining.

I set up the hive on a pallet that I had set as visibly level as I could in the dark and the wet. Not having a proper roof, I covered the top with an aluminum sheet (from the printshop) and placed a cinder block from the farm on top to hold the sheet in place.

I checked on the hive at about 7:00 am this morning and they were fanning at the entrance (a good sign). I took another couple of pictures and left them there to see what they do. I won't be able to return to check on them for three more days. I'll take one of my 42" TBH to transfer them into next week sometime.

So... I hived swarm of bees at midnight, in the cold and rain in shorts and without my veil and I only got 2 stings. Both stings are on my left leg (about an inch apart). They must have crawled up my bare leg out of the wet grass as I worked. Not a bad price to pay though, if the bees survive.

One for the mountains!

I found out yesterday (through her facebook page) that a friend had seen a swarm of bees near her cabin in the mountains above Mount Pleasant. She had even taken pictures. The swarm was huge. HUGE!

I contacted her immediately and we made plans to go up after work to see if they were still there. We didn't know where they came from or even how long they'd been there.

I even arranged to get off work a couple hours early (I love my boss) Sadly, by the time we got there, they had moved on. We were sure could hear them in the top of a 50 foot pine tree above the road, but we could not see them.

To be honest, as much as I would have loved to catch them, I'm not sure my swarm catching hive was big enough for this swarm.

One for the mountains.

Feral Bees

When I was younger I remember hiking near a small waterfall in the mountains near my home. It's a short hike (but a long drive). I can't be certain exactly how long ago it was. I know for a fact that it was not in the last 12 years. Beyond that I can't be so sure. Most likely it was while I was still in high school or shortly after. So... roughly 20 years ago.

While hiking I stumbled upon a fallen hollow tree and noticed that honey bees were flying in and out of  the hollow. I remember watching it for a few minutes, fascinated by the fact that they were wild bees living in a hollow log. Miles from anywhere. Prior to this (and actually even since) I had never seen a wild colony of bees. My only experience was with the Langstroth hives my dad used to keep. I also didn't know back then that honey bees are not native to this continent.

Well, since taking up beekeeping again last year, I've been wanting to go back and see if I could locate that hollow log and see if there were still bees living in it. The desire became even stronger the more I studied natural beekeeping and the many problems that face the bees today.

Today I finally got my chance. I was worried about the weather. It was not ideal. Cloudy. Raining off and on. I was worried because I could not remember the exact location of the log and was hoping that I could rely on returning forager bees to help me find it. I was also unsure if the log would even still be there and if it was, would it still be suitable to host a colony of bees. My memory is hazy but it seems that the log was rather low to the ground and the hollow would be within easy reach of skunk, raccoon or even a bear (all common in the area). I knew though that if I didn't go today, it would be at least 3 weeks before I could get another chance.

We first hiked into the waterfall. Carrie and Jaden went with me that far. We took advantage of the scenery and took a few photos.

While taking photos, I noticed a dozen or so honey bees drinking from the side of the stream. I was very excited. They are still here! My wife tells me I was like a kid at Christmas.

It's late and I have to get to bed so I'll try to sum it up. I found the bees living in a Cedar tree a hundred feet or more above the waterfall. They are not in the hollow, fallen log like I remember but they are in the same general location. I could not even find the hollow log. I can not tell how big the cavity is inside the tree. There appears to be a split between where the two main branches fork and this is there the entrance is. The tree itself is hanging off the side of a rather small but steep cliff. It took a bit of work going up and around to where I could get to it. I was able to watch them for several minutes and even took some pictures and video. There were many foragers coming in. Many from the direction of the stream. Many had pollen and the pollen was all white. I even saw a drone hanging about the entrance. I was able to get my hand and camera to within a foot of the entrance and they didn't seem to even notice. Pics and video follow.

Notice the split between the branches.

You can see how steep the hill is.

The girls drinking. They're still here!

There's a couple of good looking bee hunters.

Coming and going. (and a drone)

View of tree and surrounding area.

It's time to make a bait hive!