Wordless Wednesday 2014 #19 - A Buzzy Weekend


During one of the brief occasions when the sun broke through the showers this Bank Holiday weekend, our garden played host to another swarm of honey bees. The previous swarm, a couple of weeks ago, gathered too high up to photograph in the huge old oak tree in our back garden. The swarm this Sunday took up home in the front garden, in our little crab apple tree. They were still there the following day, a typically wet Bank Holiday Monday. The cluster was noticeably smaller, presumably the bees were huddling closer together because it was so cold and wet

Our local beekeeper is Simon Rice of Buntingford Bees, and he very generously sacrificed his Monday morning to come out to us. It was a delicate and time-consuming task (especially with me hovering around taking photographs!) but eventually the bees were re-housed and left to settle. Simon collected the box that evening and took the bees off to their new home. Thank you for all your help Simon!


On Sunday a swarm of honey bees gathered in our crab apple tree


Monday dawned cold and wet, and the bees huddled tightly together for warmth


Our hero Simon donned protective gear and prepared to move the bees


Fortunately he was tall enough to reach the swarm easily...


... and clearly knows exactly what he is doing!


The bees didn't like being disturbed on such a cold, wet day...


... but eventually the queen was moved to the temporary hive ...


... and the rest of the bees gradually followed. Thank you Simon!

Wordless Wednesday is a fun way to meet new bloggers. Just post a photo on your blog (words are optional, though I'm not too good at silence!) then add a link to your post in the Linky below. You can link up with other WW participants this week by clicking on one or more of the thumbnails and, in case you've missed any, click here to see some of my previous WW posts. If you have time please leave a comment as I love to hear from you. Happy Wordless Wednesday!




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