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On Wednesday, someone posted in one of our Facebook beekeeping groups about a swarm in Warwick, NY. It was actually kind of funny; the beekeeper was posting from Oklahoma. Turns out this New York family was from Oklahoma, back when the wife's (Gayle) mom was the beekeeper's babysitter. And while Oklahoma's across the country, Warwick's only about 45 minutes from us. Pure luck!
At any rate, he put Eric in touch with Gayle, who'd first posted a photo of the beautiful swarm on her own Timeline. She didn't want an exterminator, because she understands about honeybees, but she also didn't want them hanging over her mailbox indefinitely, or directly over the spot where her kids get dropped off by the school bus, which is exactly where they were.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
For those who aren't up on these things, a swarm is what happens when bees get too crowded in their hive. They raise some new queens that stay in the hive, duke it out, and become the new hive royalty, and take the old queen & half the population leaves with her. They form a cluster like this - a swarm - huddling up against an object like a tree branch, a mailbox, a picnic table, even a car fender, and send out scout bees in all different directions. The scouts look for a suitable new home and then come back and waggle dance for the swarming colony; the bee with the best dance wins, and the colony follows her to the new home.
This swarm likely came from one of the nearby orchards; there are a plethora in that part of New York State. I'd know, I've gone apple picking in Warwick!
Bees are amazing creatures. They do so many things they shouldn't be able to physically do. Like fly! With their non-aerodynamic shape and their weight, their wings shouldn't be able to carry them, but they do. They also can hold up some pretty heavy weight, like Gayle's swarm was doing. Ever put a paper clip on a magnet and then touch other magnets to the magnetized paper clip, and keep going to see how long a chain the magnetic force will allow? That's sort of what these bees were doing, but with their own strength. The top bees hang onto the branch, while the lower bees just hang onto other bees, in a cluster, keeping the queen inside to protect and warm her. Crazy, right?
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
Well, before he left for Warwick, Eric already knew that the swarm was about 15' off the ground, so he brought a ladder, but we only have a shorter one. Gayle and her husband, Mike, have a tall ladder, but it's the kind you need to prop against something, so Eric drove on up, hoping it'd work. In addition to our ladder, he brought his long-sleeved shirt, veil and gloves, bee brush, a saw, and a hive body (a deep, if you check out last week's post), bottom board, cover, entrance reducer, and ratchet strap to tie it all together once he had the bees inside... if he got the bees.
Turned out that the tree was on a slope, too steep for the ladder Gayle and Mike had, and the swarm was of course too high for our ladder. Fortuitously, Gayle and Mike have a pole saw, so Eric borrowed that.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
As Eric tells it, the bees chose to fall to a lower branch rather than immediately into the box, so he had to cut that branch down too. Good thing he was dealing with a wonderful family who cared more about helping the bees and getting this experience than losing a couple branches off their pretty evergreen!
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
Once they were there, he was able to shake the bees off the branch into the hive body. Bees, when they're swarming like this, are actually at their most docile, even though they look really intimidating. They have no hive to protect, so their priority is just to keep the queen safe and wait around for the scouts to tell them where to go.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
They were so docile, that the sea of bees buzzing all around Eric weren't the slightest bit concerned with him being there. They weren't even annoyed.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
Gayle and Mike's sons were happily watching the whole scene from a nearby tree, unbothered by bees.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
Eric knew he had the queen in the hive once the rest of the bees started going into the deep of their own volition. Bees will follow their queen anywhere, so once you've got her, you've got the swarm.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
After that, all there is to do is to wait for all the bees to head on in. Eric said it took about 20 minutes.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
In the meantime, there were some very interested young men who got to try Eric's veil and gloves so they could see the bees close up too!
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
And this is how new beekeepers happen! The boys were so excited that Eric is sure they'll be working to convince their parents that they need hives too. Hope they're successful!
Eventually, he had a complete box of bees.
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
(Photo: Gayle Beck Young)
I love that last photo. Once they were all in, he left with a promise from the family that they'll come to New Jersey and visit our hives!
The bees stayed sealed in the hive box all night until Thursday morning, when Eric and I brought them to the house of a friend who wants bees for her garden (and the environment in general), but doesn't want to be a beekeeper. So they're still our bees, just living with her and her husband.
We got the hive placed in its spot behind the peonies. You can see the entrance reducer still on, with a receipt wrapped around the hole in it to keep the bees in safely. It's that pale wood bar right above the front porch there.
Once we got the ratchet strap open, Eric lifted the lid, at which point I found that the girls were all clinging to the top corner of the hive, of course the least convenient place for them to be, at least for our purposes.
I'll admit, it was disconcerting. I've seen photos like this, but it was the first time I was up close and personal with a dense cluster of bees. Eric held the lid over the hive body while I used a bee brush to brush them all in. A bee brush is just what it sounds like, a brush with ultra soft bristles so the bees don't get injured when you direct them where you want them to go.
They didn't get injured, but they definitely got agitated. I was happy to be wearing my jacket, veil, and gloves. By this time, they'd been knocked out of a tree, driven an hour to New Jersey, and then driven again to another house. Plus, now that they had a home, they wanted to get to work building it, not be bothered by us. We were quick, though.
Eventually, we had them where we needed them, added 10 frames of foundation, put on the inner cover, a feeding bucket filled with sugar water (and Honey B Healthy - an essential oil mix that keeps the sugar water from going bad & gives them some added nutrients) in a second deep, and then the outer cover on top. (FYI, frames are literally wooden rectangular frames that we put together, each holding one thin sheet of beeswax foundation for the girls to get a head start working on to build out their honeycomb.)
Our friend had designated a spot for them with welcome signs, since she wouldn't be home when we got there.
nWe did leave the entrance reducer in (that pale bar right above the front porch/landing board) so that, as a very small colony, they don't have too much space to defend.
The cutest thing... before Eric left the Warwick home on Wednesday, one of the boys gave him a dandelion for the bees (too sweet!), so I was sure to put it on their landing board where they could have it.
I already want to go back to see how they're doing!
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