We got them with no problems. A small, 3-comb plus a tag colony. They were storing honey in the outside comb surfaces. We cut the limb with a handsaw and used no smoke...these were some very gentle bees that didn't pay any attention to the vibration of the saw over a relatively long period of time. I didn't get stung (veil and short sleeve shirt) nor did Mr. Nolen as for as I could tell.
I made a simple cradle with some cord. I drove some nails into the outside of the top box and tied the cord to them. I'll have to get a picture of the cradle and bees when I go back into them hopefully this weekend. I forgot all about pictures until we'd cut the outer part of the limb off and then didn't think about them again until we were headed home. Oh well, at least I remembered to get the bees! :-D
This shot shows the colony hanging below the limb before we finished cutting it loose. You can see a light gold tint to the comb where they've been storing honey. They've been working to get ready for winter. The comb had a bright yellow tint to it that you can't really see in this picture.
This is a shot of Mr. Nolen after we cut the limb loose. If you look closely you can see the yellow tint I spoke of....goldenrod!
The GR flow is about over down here...it's turning brownish in most places but still there are patches of bright yellow every no and then. Seems the shorter growing GR blooms later. Tarweed is about three-fourths through it's flow and the little white asters are wide open still. Bitterweed (ugh) is still blooming.
It was 28 miles one-way so we left some stragglers...hopefully we did the colony good, though...it's supposed to get down below 40F next week so I don't know how they would have done. I know they'll appreciate the feeding they'll get as I don't think they would've had enough to make it to spring with. Anyhow, we got'em and they're on a hive stand now. :)
Ed