Honey Bees

 I have never been interested in the life of bees until one of my bosses at work is a bee keeper.  We actually have a hive of bees in our community garden just outside our back entrance to our building.  I often go out with Eric when he is checking on the hive and looking for the queen.  He gets all suited up and checks inside the hive periodically.  Of course I stand my distance but I'm fascinated with the whole process.  The other day, when I was coming in to work I notice the mass of bees outside the hive.  

I quickly took a picture and ran in to tell Eric that something was wrong with the hive.  What I had not seen was there was a huge swarm of bees up in the tree about 12 feet away from our hive.  Eric had called his wife, who is a beekeeper, to come over and help him gather the swarm that was in the tree.  The didn't know for sure of the queen had moved from the old hive and the colony was following her of if this was actually another swarm with its own queen.  

The dark part is the swarm.  Eric and Kim suited up and proceeded to put another hive box below the swarm and then Eric climbed up on a chair and shook the limb causing the swarm to fall in the box.  Apparently when this happens, the bees will form a shield around the queen so she doesn't get hurt.  Eric and Kim hoped that the queen fell into the box.  As soon as the main part of the swarm was in the box, Kim and Eric covered the top.  They already had honey in the box for the bees to work with and start building a home and feeding the queen.  We came out a couple hours later and the bees had settled down and were doing what honey bees do.  So now we have two hives.  Eric said that what usually happens, is that someone probably bought this hive of bees for $150.00 (the going price for a queen and hive) and for some reason the bees didn't like where they were and took off with the queen and we became the recipient.  

The whole process was amazing to watch.  I totally have a new respect for honey bees and for those who have the courage and know how to care for them.  We know that our world depends a lot on the honey bees.