I wish I was there in person, but Jennifer the Bee Wrangler was kind enough to send me play by play pictures. I think they are amazing.
This is the hive around 9:30 this morning when she arrived, hanging off my pergola and wisteria on our back deck.
This is the honeycomb after she vacuumed off the outer layer of bees (about 2-2.5 feet long and 2 feet wide)
This is where she starts peeling back the layers of honeycomb. Lots more bees inside!
Lots of pollen and some baby bees:
Pollen and some honey - only a small jar will come from this though:
The honey is the one inch strip at the top of the cut slice - a lot of pollen and babies though so only a small container of honey will come from it and it will have pollen in it too.
"Weeeeeeeee're the beeeeeeeeeees in the box. Buuuuuuuuuried in our honey... wooooooon't youuuuuuuuu cooooooooome aaaand save us?"
But seriously - the bees are in the box and the queen is in the black box to protect her from others who might overthrow her. Also a sliver of honeycomb used to relocate them.
About an hour later, after Jen returned from lunch. You can see the non-captured bees are trying to be with their beethren and their queen. She just covered them up and put them in her truck and went on her way.
She said they were a small colony of super sweet bees, not an aggressive one in the bunch, no more than 15,000 bees. Just a li'l ole batch o bees...
My and DH's nicknames are "buzza" and "beeza." I think we should start a bee farm - Buzza and Beeza's organic honey grown right in the suburbs of Houston, TX. ;-)
ETA - the bee wrangler provides bees to Zelko Bistro in the Houston Heights. The chef/owner of the Bistro created this organization: www.heightshoneybeeproject.com/#!
I'm glad the Wrangler could squeeze us in so we could do something to contribute to the solution of bee shortages rather than add to the problem!
I love bees, well the non-agressive kind since I'm allergic. I'd love to have a bee colony, but due to aforementioned allergy, it's obviously not a good idea.
You can't eat honey with some pollen in it? Because I will if there is no issue with it, lol.
The science of the situation was so fascinating to me. I plan to share the honeycomb with my girl scouts and we have the bug badge coming right up! I wish they could have watched from the kitchen window though. I have a 63" wide window 15 feet from where the hive was...
I love bees, well the non-agressive kind since I'm allergic. I'd love to have a bee colony, but due to aforementioned allergy, it's obviously not a good idea.
Ditto. I have been through a lot of epi pens, too. I don't know anyone who gets stung like I do.
This was really cool, Michelle. Thanks for sharing the pics!
"Not gonna lie; I kind of keep expecting you to post one day that you threw down on someone who clearly had no idea that today was NOT THEIR DAY." ~dontcallmeshirley
I love bees, well the non-agressive kind since I'm allergic. I'd love to have a bee colony, but due to aforementioned allergy, it's obviously not a good idea.
Ditto. I have been through a lot of epi pens, too. I don't know anyone who gets stung like I do.
This was really cool, Michelle. Thanks for sharing the pics!
Ugh, that sucks. It's been a decade since the last time in was stung. My hand was swollen for a month. I really need to get with the program and get some epi pens though.
I love honeybees but that first picture...oh man I would have been freaked out if that were right outside my door!
how about right above your head, like 5 feet away?
DD and I were outside last Friday when we discovered them. She was painting and I was working from home on my laptop. She said, "mommy, bees." I waved her off and said a couple of bees won't bother anyone if you don't bother them. She said, "NO mommy. BEES." I looked at her and saw she was pointing up at the hive, kind of shock. I told her to move slowly and carefully back inside while I cleared off the table. It has been a little fascinating and a little scary since then.
I love honeybees but that first picture...oh man I would have been freaked out if that were right outside my door!
how about right above your head, like 5 feet away?
DD and I were outside last Friday when we discovered them. She was painting and I was working from home on my laptop. She said, "mommy, bees." I waved her off and said a couple of bees won't bother anyone if you don't bother them. She said, "NO mommy. BEES." I looked at her and saw she was pointing up at the hive, kind of shock. I told her to move slowly and carefully back inside while I cleared off the table. It has been a little fascinating and a little scary since then.
Yeah freaked out, completely. That is the kind of thing that is utterly fascinating to me, from behind a thick glass wall or better yet, over a computer screen.
Well those videos are just fascinating! Someone needs to buy that lady a GoPro so she can record the whole process. I've challenged my husband to find a bee wrangler in our area who would let me go with them on a hive relocation mission. Obviously, I'm a bit crazy, but this is SO cool!
OH OH! I know how she locates the queen. The queen usually has a group of followers and has a shiny belly. Once you get her in the box, the guards will land on the box and start bowing down, indicating where the queen is.
And YES you can definitely eat your honey. Nom nom nom
I love honeybees but that first picture...oh man I would have been freaked out if that were right outside my door!
how about right above your head, like 5 feet away?
DD and I were outside last Friday when we discovered them. She was painting and I was working from home on my laptop. She said, "mommy, bees." I waved her off and said a couple of bees won't bother anyone if you don't bother them. She said, "NO mommy. BEES." I looked at her and saw she was pointing up at the hive, kind of shock. I told her to move slowly and carefully back inside while I cleared off the table. It has been a little fascinating and a little scary since then.
how long had it been there? Like, how long did it take them to build that hive?