Indefatigable & inspirational LA Backwards Beekeeper Roberta writes:
We got an email from Veronica in Norwalk. She explains it all:
"We have two hives of bees and they need rescuing. We have one in front of our house inside of a tree and another inside of the hedge of our house. I reside in Norwalk. The city of Norwalk patched up the hole and the bees are mad and trying to get back into the hole in the tree.
I feel bad for the little guys so we are trying to find a beekeeper who is interested in saving them. Please let me know if you are interested."
—Veronica
So I went to check it out on the way from work to Long Beach. Well, the tree had a lot of activity and setting up the trap-out will take some creativity. The biggest issue is directing them up and to a box positioned high enough and placed securely enough that they stay out of the foot traffic. I'll work on that later.
Then we took a look at the hedge bees which were in a low cement/plaster wall with a hole in the top. I took a picture through the hole and the bees got mad really fast. These are mean bees.
This will take careful planning to prevent stings to the people on the side walk just a few feet away. We'll probably need to cut through the cement wall. Also something for a different day.
THEN, Veronica and her family said that there were some more bees that had showed up in a tree! It was a huge swarm that had landed a few days ago and then disappeared. Then it can back to the same spot but was only half the size. Now THAT I could do right then and there.
Veronica's mom used to be a beekeeper but she definitely didn't want to keep these. They watched from a window and caught some shots of me putting the swarm into the box.
It was pretty easy and done in about 10 minutes. It looked like they were setting up a hive with bits of comb all over the tree and bees bringing back pollen. Boy the bees love this home. It is going to be a big bee day when I come back.
Anyone interested?
—roberta
