Indian Wells Golf Course Catch

I want to take this opportunity to welcome the newest members of our bee family. I caught these girls yesterday in tree on the 15th hole of Indian Wells Golf Course. 

It was around 7 am, and I was preparing my beemobile for a bee removal in Pawley's Island, when I got a call from Shawn (head greenskeeper) that there was a cluster of honeybees up in a tree. It happened to be right on the way to my job in Pawley's, so I told him that I would come by and catch them for him. He told me they were up about 25', so I loaded my trusty (or not...), improvised 5 gallon bucket on a pole and headed over to the golf course. 

Shawn met me out there and showed me where the girls were "hanging out." As it was on somewhat of an incline, I asked Shawn if he could stick around and hold the ladder for me, while I extended the bucket up to catch the bees. He cheerfully agreed to do it, and I prepared things for the catch. 

I had used this setup to catch a swarm at my own house last August, so I had confidence that it would work. So, I extended the pole-mounted bucket up to the bees, while Shawn steadied the ladder for me. As I "bumped" the bees with the bucket, many of the bees came raining down upon us (neither of us had any protective gear on). At this point, Shawn, who was holding the ladder said, "Tom, I think one of them went down my shirt." I looked down and saw a bee on his collar, and told him not to worry, the bee had not gotten that far, but was only on his collar. I told him that if the bee had desired to sting him, it would already have happened. He hung in there with me, and then the next exciting thing happened.

In the process of "bumping" the cluster of bees with my bucket, the bucket broke loose from the pole and came crashing to the ground with bees flying everywhere. This added to the already exciting atmosphere. Thanks to the amazing invention of duct tape, I was able to reattach the bucket to the pole and commence with the bee catch. I was able to get about 2/3 rds of the bees into my hive box and the bees were now orienting to the new hive I'd set up for them.

At this point, I left the bees there and went to my removal in Pawley's Island. I came back around 8pm, and found all the bees in my hive box. I strapped the hive together, loaded it into the bee mobile and headed home to place them in their new location - my back yard. Mission accomplished!

I would like to thank Shawn, at Indian Wells Golf Course, for calling me when he saw the swarm assembling and for assisting me in the catch. I couldn't have done it with out you!

Here's a few pictures of the catch. Click on the images to enlarge.

From the bucket to the hive

My beemobile in the background

Here's their beautiful view

Getting dark. Time to get them to their new home.

Thanks for looking!

Bee Air Conditioning

Honey bees have to keep their hives reasonably cool in the summer. Here's a picture showing how they do it. The bees themselves become their "air conditioners" for the hive. These bees are "fanning," which produces a cooling effect upon the hive. 

Click on the picture to enlarge

If you have received this picture in an email, click on the link that says, "Bees by the Sea" on the bottom of your email. That will take you to the blog. Then, if you want to enlarge a picture or leave a comment, you are in the right place to do that. 

Thanks for looking!