Sometimes You Just Need To Step Away. And Rescue A Swarm Of Bees.

So there I was working away on business at the computer in the office when the call came.

A swarm had taken up residence in a plum tree in a backyard.  The family's two-year old toddler had been sitting at the base of the tree playing happily when the parents noticed what was over his head about 6 feet up.

I was told that the swarm measured about 18 inches across and 12 down. 

So now what?

Sometimes you just need to step away and rescue a swarm of bees.

I waited til mid-afternoon, suited up, put my gear in the trunk of the car and drove over to the home.  I gotta tell you, this was a beautiful swarm: healthy, quiet, peaceable, looking for a place to call home, raise their brood, have something nutritious close by to eat and a source of water to drink.

Before a swarm leaves the colony with the old queen, maybe some virgin ones, the worker bees gorge on honey.  Who knows when and where the next meal will be.  The queen is starved to slim down so she can fly.  At a signal, the queen and a number of her worker daughters leave home.  They may go only 200 yards away and alight in a safe rest stop while scout bees seek new real estate.

In this situation the bees are relatively calm: they are exposed, perhaps chilled, protecting the queen.  Of course, it's no excuse to go up and poke them.  But the homeowner and I stood just underneath the swarm and watched and listened to the quiet hum.

When I was ready to get to work as a volunteer bee rescuer, the homeowner and her toddler son watched from inside the house.  I like to spritz a little honey water on the swarm to give them a bit of food and distract them as they lick off their bodies.  I don't use smoke - there is no need.  After positioning a tall step ladder under the swarm I balanced a hive body on top and climbed up on the stone wall you see in the photo.  Once close to the swarm I gave the branch a big WHACK! to encourage as many of the honeybees as possible to drop into the box in a clump.  There was quite a flurry of bees in the air but they were not interested in me.  Many of them regrouped on the limb before they realized that the queen was in the box. 

Over the next hour we watched as bees stood along the rim of the hive box fanning their wings to let the rest know that the queen was in the box and they better hurry "home."  When I was sure that I had just about all of them I covered and secured the hive box, slid it into the trunk of my car and took the swarm to my apiary.  Finding a good spot to locate the new colony I removed all the screening and duct tape, reduced the hive entry to the size of a single bee so the colony could defend itself against any robbers, and then sat for a while realizing that at that moment I was the luckiest Lady Bee Wrangler in the world.

It's not a waste of time to break up the day, get outside, take in a breath of fresh air, listen to natural sounds, or even rescue a swarm of bees.  Our souls need such times.