The bees were about 4 feet off the ground in an apple tree. I had permission to prune the tree but decided a good shake would work and I wouldn't have to do any cutting.
I placed some landscaping paver stones under the tree to set the box down on after shaking the bees into it. I held the box in my right hand and vigorously shook the branch with my left. I took one sting on the right arm as the bees fell. Most of the bees went in the box and the rest were on the ground in the grass around the stones. I set the box down and placed the lid on it, leaving it cracked. I did not remember however to put in my top bars until several minutes had gone by and the bees were already beginning to cluster on the lid. I placed the bars all on the one side (1 inch bars - with waxed wooden strips for guides) and closed the lid completely, knowing that I'd have to reposition the bars when I put the hive in it's final place at home. I shook the branch again as there were bees starting to cluster again in the tree. I took another sting, this time to the face (first face sting - ever). Within just minutes you could see the bees in the grass begin moving towards the hive, climbing up the bricks. Many were waving their nasonov around at the entrance so I knew I had the queen. It was so cool to see them "marching" up the bricks and into to the hive.
The weather was rather nasty. Cold and windy.
I left the hive there and went back to work (3 blocks away), telling the homeowners that I'd come back to get it later. After work there were still many bees in the grass and a few still in the tree. I decided to leave it until after dark. Even after dark, there were quite a few bees left in the grass, showing no signs of moving into the hive. I ended up leaving them there as I wasn't sure how to get them into the box. I took another sting on the leg while rearranging the top bars after getting them home. She had crawled up my pant leg.
Note to self: get a sheet and keep it with my stuff. It would have made my job (and the bees job) much easier if I'd had a sheet spread out under the swarm instead of letting them fall in the grass.
The homeowner told me that they had been in the tree for at least 3 days. His little girls had been telling him about the bees in the tree and he didn't think much of it. Figured they were just wasps. When mowing his lawn yesterday, he finally saw for himself what the girls had been trying to tell him.
Three stings and a bit of time for a large bunch of bees (10 lbs?). Not bad at all. I figure the weather and the amount of time they had been there already contributed to their grumpy mood. Had I known they had been there that long, I might have suited up.
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