I was lucky to have our security office call me about a swarm at work today just after lunch. I’m not sure how they knew to call me but call me they did. The weather was wonderful and I was caught up on work so I told them I would take care of it. The swarm was of medium size I guess. It was in a small shrub in some landscaping. It was very easy to get to and a great first swarm to capture. I clipped out the small twigs with bees and placed them in a cardboard nuc box. I didn't have a hive totally complete so the race was on when I got home with the bees. I needed to attach my roofing material and get the legs on and get the hive level and get the bees in quickly. Time was ticking because I also had my first beekeepers club meeting tonight with this new club I found and I didn't want to miss it. I was going to add windows in the two extra hives I had built and in storage but that plan fell through this afternoon in the mad dash.

My purchased bees were in nucs so this was my first experience with a swarm/package. LOTS of bees in the air when I shook them into the hive! A different experience than just moving frames over to say the least.

The temp dropped to low 50's after I returned from the meeting. I went to go get the nuc box that I left open and in front of the hive and found a handful size cluster still in the box so I put the lid on it and opened the entrance hole. Inside the hive (I looked up through the bottom screen) the bees are in three clusters. One big one and two smaller ones in three corners.

Wow, I didn't expect to have three hives already. Three looks to be the limit in my small urban backyard. Hopefully this swarm will survive and have some good genetics.

Here is a shot of the big cluster in the corner shot up through the screened bottom. I thought the newspaper headline “Remembering Your Mother” was appropriate but was a complete accident. The paper is holding some sugar on top of it.

And here is all three hives.