a swarm of bees!
By ickledigga
11 comments
I had just made some lunch and we went to sit out in the sunshine when i spotted this dangling from a tree in the chicken orchard…
The bees swarm in order to find a new home. They surround the queen and wait til all bees are present and correct. At this stage we intervene and suggest they should go and live in a hive we have been preparing for them!
The bees are sedate at this stage they have previously gorged on honey before they set off on their expedition so therefore they are quite easy to handle. We literally snapped off the branch they were clinging to and gently lowered them into a box. We carried them over to the new hive and let them into their new home. Simple. Hopefully they will like their new hive and settle in!
8 Jun, 2008
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Just read your answer on your photo, Thanks! So how many hives are you maintaining now?
8 Jun, 2008
yes it is! We looked thro one of the other hives to find a number of queen cells! U'll like this part... to create a queen the bees feed royal jelly to a grub (developing bee). The original queen is intimidated and will leave to find a new home and she'll take some of the colony with her! Its fascinating stuff!
8 Jun, 2008
We have four hives at the moment! They are in their third year cycle which means swarming is likely to occur to increase their numbers!
8 Jun, 2008
you will certainly have plenty of honey if they keep increasing. brilliant pictures
8 Jun, 2008
fascinating!
8 Jun, 2008
When was it I asked you about a swarm...not very long ago right? hahaha... it's so great to see them doing their bee thing..You made the pickup look sooo easy.. How many more hives will you have to add? Great blog...
8 Jun, 2008
Were you all dressed up in your beekeeper outfit? They always remind me of spacemen.
8 Jun, 2008
Yeah i was it was sweltering hot inside it! Tom's looks like he's an astronaut but mine has a sort of wide brimmed cowboy hat! Lori i was thinking of you went i was taking the pics... clever little bees knew you were interested hahaha!
9 Jun, 2008
How long does it take them to settle into the new hive ?
9 Jun, 2008
I went back yesterday tea time and the bees were flying in and out of the new hive collecting pollen so im hopeful that they have settled! I'll keep my eyes peeled just in case they swarm again tho!
9 Jun, 2008
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11 May, 2008
Quite an adventure! So is this swarm an offshoot of one of the hives? Sorry but I am totally ignorant on beekeeping, possibly due to being terrified of bees, wasps & hornets,lol!
8 Jun, 2008