One of the most exciting adventures for new beekeeper is to catch their first swarm. My daughter and I got our first swarm call on March 27, 2020. If you don’t remember that was in the middle of the pandemic because of COVID-19. The good part about that time was that we were available to go. We tossed what we thought we would need in the pathfinder and made our way to Eureka Foundries in downtown Chattanooga. There was a swarm in their parking lot. Instead of using pesticides on the swarm, they called the local bee club to save the bees. The swarm was an impressive size even though that was not obvious since half the bees were in the rusty pipe laying on the grown.
We jumped right in and started to try different ways to get our treasure into the box. The method may not have been perfect but the day was the best!
We moved the bees to the hive but the joke was on us. Thirty minutes later, when checking on the bees, we found the box empty. One of the fruit trees was buzzing. Looking up we found this.
We could not give up. Back into action we went to get the bees in their home. We added a frame of brood and the ladies put out the welcome mat and decide to call the hive home.
Thank you to John Radford at the Ooltewah Bee Company, who is always willing to help new beekeepers and gave me all the advice I needed to catch this swarm.
Later we did notice bees still in the tree. More than likely scout bees that were out and about when we relocated the swarm. We could not abandon these bees.
After about a week, we inspected that hive and found the star herself.
My daughter and I will always remember this fantastic day, especially since we took the obstacle of the pandemic and turned it into something amazing.
Enjoyed reading this story about your first sworn. So many would be terrified but you all jumped right in to save the bees! How awesome!