Ray and Sally in Silver Lake called the Bee Rescue Hotline about a hive of bees in one of their backyard trees. The bees had only swarmed there 4 or 5 days ago, but they had already drawn three small combs, started collecting honey, and had a decent amount of new brood going. Impressive!
I'm not good at identifying trees, but this one has the kind of fast-growing branches that feel like they can snap off without too much effort. And despite not being superstitious, I wasn't all that excited about being up on a ladder on Friday the 13th. But that's bee fever for you.
I borrowed a small kitchen knife from Ray and Sally to remove the very new combs from the branch.
Meanwhile, Sally modeled her new Backwards Beekeepers t-shirt for Ray.
Once I got the box down to the ground, the bees had already found the entrance and were exploring.
I gave the box a quick duct tape job and got them on the move so they wouldn't overheat. Yes, in January.
Here are the bees in their new home, sitting atop the hive I'll join them with if they decide to stick around.
