Bee Rescue Part One

30 People in full beekeeping gear
11 hives in 2 apiaries
6 different kinds of home made cake
2 hours on the hottest day of the year
1 poorly beekeeper whose family have asked for assistance

These are the ingredients for a bee rescue.

While one group went to the garden apiary to check the five hives there, a dozen of us went to the apiary in a nearby farmyard.  Tony had been there during the week and cut the grass round the sites so we could access the hives.  This apiary was to be removed so we started with clearing away the redundant equipment.  In the heat, wearing boiler suits over another layer, hats with veils, rubber gloves and wellies, you don't need much imagination to realise that sweat was soon trickling down our legs and off our noses, which of course, you can't do much about when you are veiled.

We worked in three groups with an expert supervising each one to examine two hives.  I was on smoker while Ben did the examining and his dad Jonathan helped Richard supervise.  The  bees were nicely docile even when their hive started to collapse under them but we soon realised it was because the poor creatures were starving.  The hive was quickly prepared for transport to a new home and we started examining our second hive.  This time I was doing the scraping off of propolis, levering frames out of their boxes and lifting them out to examine each side, looking for stores or healthy brood and, of course, the Queen.   Ben was working the smoker.   

Just four feet from the starving colony, this one had copious stores.  Ben managed to try the honey and he declared it strongly flavoured and rich - in a good way.    The supers of honey were left to one side and will soon be used by the starving bees and local wasps amongst others.    By this time the group had disturbed five hives and we were working in a swirling mass of bees. It sounds horrid but, in fact, the bees were so good tempered that nobody was stung and it wasn't that bad at all.

Working at speed to finish before the forecast thunderstorms started, my Bee Buddy Ben and I transferred the brood frames to the spare hive I had taken along.  By now those who had finished their hives were gathered round and that's how the Queen was spotted in the bottom of the old hive.   Apparently she's enormous and golden coloured but we didn't see her again despite frantically searching for her.   The only evidence that she's actually safely in the new hive was the fanning behaviour of the bees at the entrance which should mean they were fanning her pheromones out to attract straggler bees into their new home.

We left the hive strapped up ready for transport and protected from the rain to retire for the compulsory element of every beekeepers' meeting (in my experience) - tea and home-made cakes!