Just as I was packing for another three days away (working I assure you!), I got the call I was waiting for. A bee swarm had appeared in a tree in a village a few miles away and a local beekeeper who that knew I wanted some bees was ready to answer the call.

So I dropped the supper preparation and the packing, threw my bee suit and kit into the car and set off to the action site.

I have been on a swarm collection before, so I knew what to expect, but it’s a bit different when you know that the cluster of bees hanging in the tree are going to be yours.
Well, you never own bees as they are wild creatures, but they would be in my care, providing we could get them out of the tree and into a suitable container.

Someone once asked me how you collect a swarm. They thought you threw a net over them! That vision makes me smile! It’s really not a good idea.
Capturing a swarm is actually a magical process and the perfect way to bond with your bees.
Dressed in protective bee suits and armed with a skep and a walking stick, we approached the rugby-sized ball of bees clinging to the tree. They were a dark black mass, but barely moved and were pretty much silent.
I stood watching them for a few minutes, admiring their group hug and wanting them to understand that they might be coming home with me. I held the skep beneath the swarm, hooked the walking stick over the branch and gave it a violent yank.
Most of the swarm dropped into the skep and the rest of the bees scattered.

We’d caught about 2/3 of the bees, which were now huddled in the bottom of the basket humming.
What an adrenalin rush.
The skep was then inverted over a board placed on a cotton throw. We propped open at the bottom, leaving a space for bees to come and go. A few of the scattered bees flew down to it and stood outside with their bottoms in the air fanning.
This is classic bee communication and releases a pheromone that tells the other bees where they are and that they’ve found a home.
It also meant that we had captured the queen.
With the queen inside the skep the other bees would soon join her and then we could wrap up the whole package and transport it to my waiting hive.
When bees swarm they are at their least dangerous. They are simply looking for a new home. They fill their tummies up with precious honey and embark on their journey looking for somewhere new to set up home.
We left the skep for a few hours and just before dusk returned to find that every single bee had joined the queen. At 9pm we transferred the colony into my hive and at 5am the next morning I reluctantly left them behind as I embarked on a feature finding mission further afield.
For three days my new charges must fend for themselves and settle in their new home. There’s a chance they may abscond, but I am really hoping that they love their new hive and stay for a very long time. I am sure you won’t be surprised to read that I am not conforming and farming my bees for honey (though I hope to harvest a little), instead I want to keep them sustainably, naturally and with as little interference as possible.
This is the start of a new chapter, not just for my blog, but also in my life. I truly believe that I was destined to keep bees and I am so excited it’s not true!

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