On Tuesday, this swarm moved into the nuc sitting on my carport brick wall. They've been housekeeping and setting up shop quite busily since then. I know they chose me, but I can't have another hive - I have eight now.
At the Metro Atlanta Beekeepers' meeting on Wednesday, I asked my friend Gina if she would like these bees. Turns out her second hive had absconded and she was wishing for bees. So we planned for me to deliver them at dark tonight.
I have a door for a medium hive but not one for a nuc, so I devised a makeshift closure to keep the bees in the hive for the drive to Gina's house, not far from mine. Below you can see Gina and me as we get ready to take the bees out of my car.
We carried the nuc down through her lovely garden spot and placed it next to its new hive home which the bees will move into tomorrow. We opened the front door of the nuc and took off all of the bungee cords, securing the closure of this small hive. Gina's husband, Phillip, took these great pictures of us in action.
Since these bees have been oriented to a location in my carport, Gina placed some greens in front of the nuc to help the bees orient tomorrow. She'll put the bees in the hive tomorrow and then disrupt that entrance with greens as well to help the bees get their bearings. I do hope this becomes a successful hive for her.
This is the tale that began in 2006 in my first year of beekeeping in Atlanta, GA. ...there's still so much to learn.
Welcome - Explore my Blog
I've been keeping this blog for all of my beekeeping years and I am beginning my 19th year of beekeeping in April 2024. Now there are more than 1300 posts on this blog. Please use the search bar below to search the blog for other posts on a subject in which you are interested. You can also click on the "label" at the end of a post and all posts with that label will show up. At the very bottom of this page is a list of all the labels I've used.
Even if you find one post on the subject, I've posted a lot on basic beekeeping skills like installing bees, harvesting honey, inspecting the hive, etc. so be sure to search for more once you've found a topic of interest to you. And watch the useful videos and slide shows on the sidebar. All of them have captions. Please share posts of interest via Facebook, Pinterest, etc.
I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.
I began this blog to chronicle my beekeeping experiences. I have read lots of beekeeping books, but nothing takes the place of either hands-on experience with an experienced beekeeper or good pictures of the process. I want people to have a clearer picture of what to expect in their beekeeping so I post pictures and write about my beekeeping saga here.Master Beekeeper Enjoy with me as I learn and grow as a beekeeper.
Need help with an Atlanta area swarm? Visit Found a Swarm? Call a Beekeeper. (404) 482-1848
Want to Pin this post?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
Hi Linda,
ReplyDeleteI was going to ask at the metro meeting how to get on the list for swarms and forgot. Then reading this post I thought you would know how do I get on the list for swarms? My second hive absconded as well and I would really like at least one if not two more hives before, if its not already, to late.
Thank you,
Cassandra Lawson