Bees in a House in Kitchener

honeybees

. Last night was interesting…. someone had contacted the beekeepers association about a swarm of bees nesting in the siding of a house, so I went with a fellow beekeeper to check it out. The pic above is the hive entrance, but we couldn’t actually figure out where in the wall they were. So, they’re … Read more

Friends

beekeeping

Some of the ladies came to visit me as I was watching the swarm settle into their new home. They hung around for a bit, let me take some pictures, then flew off to see what was going on with everybody else. Very docile. We thought the bees might be on edge, given the cloudy … Read more

A New Home

bee swarm

Continuing the saga of the swarm: it didn’t take long – about a few minutes – for the bees to head down into the hive box between the frames. They’re exploring the possibility of this new place, probably walking all around the box to measure it and figure out if it will work for them … Read more

Beautiful Bees

bee swarm up close

I’m so glad I was able to go see the swarm yesterday. There’s something wildly different about seeing bees up close without the familiar constraints of the hive box. Wow are they gorgeous. A solid mass of bees, hanging from a branch. They didn’t mind me poking around with my camera, inches away from their … Read more

Swarm Capture

swarm capture

Today turned out to be pretty exciting after all. Around 10:30 I received a phone call from Michelle, Ken’s wife, asking if I wanted to come help capture a swarm. I would say I didn’t do much ‘helping’ – but it was amazing to be there. Here you see Steven sizing up the situation. He’s … Read more