This is what a wild bee swarm looks like. That is a solid mass of bees - how would you like to be the one of the bees in the middle - can't imagine that would be a lot of fun!
The sad thing is that these are probably my bees. Yep!! It is sort of like good news and bad news. The good news is that my two bee hives are doing extremely well. The bad news is that my hives are doing extremely well. What is happening is that my queen bees in both hives are now laying what they call "queen bee cells." This happens every Spring, so it is a normal occurence. Being a new beekeeper, I was unaware of this (now I am!!!). I needed to do something about these cells before they hatched. Unfortunately, several of the queen cells hatched. The problem is that there can only be one queen in a hive and because my hives are doing so well, there was a problem of overcrowding. So the new queen took a bunch of the bees and left - i.e., a swarm.
We have had 3 swarms so far this Spring. I had an experienced beekeper capture two of the swarms. I captured my very first swarm last night!! Woo Hoo! And, I am still here to talk about it - no stings, no visits to the hospital - I did it!! Scare to death - you betcha!! Prayed the entire time!! Jesus and I caught those silly bees and put them in a new hive!
Last night, I checked on my new hive, everybody looks like they are pretty content. I hope so. Not really anxious about re-capturing another wild swarm.
The sad thing is that these are probably my bees. Yep!! It is sort of like good news and bad news. The good news is that my two bee hives are doing extremely well. The bad news is that my hives are doing extremely well. What is happening is that my queen bees in both hives are now laying what they call "queen bee cells." This happens every Spring, so it is a normal occurence. Being a new beekeeper, I was unaware of this (now I am!!!). I needed to do something about these cells before they hatched. Unfortunately, several of the queen cells hatched. The problem is that there can only be one queen in a hive and because my hives are doing so well, there was a problem of overcrowding. So the new queen took a bunch of the bees and left - i.e., a swarm.
We have had 3 swarms so far this Spring. I had an experienced beekeper capture two of the swarms. I captured my very first swarm last night!! Woo Hoo! And, I am still here to talk about it - no stings, no visits to the hospital - I did it!! Scare to death - you betcha!! Prayed the entire time!! Jesus and I caught those silly bees and put them in a new hive!
Last night, I checked on my new hive, everybody looks like they are pretty content. I hope so. Not really anxious about re-capturing another wild swarm.
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