It was one of those super cold days, but the home-owners, Sam and Alexys, were building some retaining walls on their hillside and they needed the wood from the stack the bees had made their home in. It couldn't wait!
There was a ton of comb! I took some brood comb and put together with a swarm I captured earlier, to give to another new beekeeper trying to get started.
Here's how it went:
Alexys really got into making beautiful frames while we waited for the day to warm up as morning passed. I actually left late in the morning to come back later when the sun was warmer and shining more directly on the hives. It was a cold day.
We made up two deeps worth- 20 frames.
Sam had his supers assembled and had made a nice hive stand. The plan was to move the bees only about 20 feet, from their feral home into the new hive.
The bees had lived here for a few years, but the now pallets were sorely needed for a construction project on the property.
A lot of comb, and such long pieces of it!
We couldn't even use all of it.
We put some of it in a box to keep the scooped-up bees happy while we tied the rest of it up as fast as we could. It was quickly getting towards evening and the temperature was dropping...
Sam's dad helped with the comb cutting. We tied the comb into the frames with the same orientation the bees had created.
It was a group effort!
Alexys is looking forward to keeping bees!
The new beekeepers, Alexys and Sam.
—Ruth
