So, I had this little cut-out in a playhouse floor to do today. This was my first order of business. I had sized things up and knew this wasn't a big colony, so I figured it to be a 3hr job, tops. I had other things planned and managed to do two of them.
You see, with bees you can always expect the unexpected or at least be expected to be surprised at least every now and then. Boy was today, that day!
As you will see in the pics, this colony was not that large, so what's the big deal??
How about 9 queens, that's right, 9 queens! After I had found the first 4 I gave Dallas and Bailey a call, I was ecstatic, slobbering all over the place.
Well, how was I supposed to know that I hadn't even found half of the queens in this colony? Shoot, things were just warming up!
Piping? I can still hear it, this colony was vocal, man, I tell ya! I brought with me 3 queen catchers, and a couple of queen cages, and had to put the rest of the queens in a small tupperware container.
So, anyway, at one point in the process, I see some swarming, low to the ground, it was weird. The really weird part was that they swarmed onto my beevac! And yep, a juicy queen in the middle of it all.
I boxed her, but the wind was strong, and a gust blew the box over, I believe forcing the queen out. Well she must have gone back to my beevac and moved underneath the motor housing, as bees were going iside the vac through the housing!! I didn't know that was possible until today.
So I had this swarm go into the beevac!!!
Long story short, left with a ton of queens, a new set up, and an experience that I will never forget!
Btw, the colony had consumed its stores, had, of course, hatched out swarm cells, and I believe they were a day or two out from swarming.
Pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/pyxicephalus/APRIL102008...JP