Hive number two is up and running, but it had a very different beginning to hive number one.

We received a call from our friendly beekeeper to say he had a swarm available.

I apologise for interrupting myself so early in this tale, but it’s worth mentioning the most remarkable thing that happened the night before that phone call.

John and I were having our tea outside, as we were still in the grip of the second heatwave of the year, when we both heard a loud zzzzzzing noise getting closer and closer. Our first thought was that someone was flying a drone over the house. We looked up to see what appeared to be a black cloud passing directly over the roof before heading off towards the woodland a couple of fields away.

It turned out to be a swarm from one of our beekeeper’s hives.

He explained that after a colony swarms, the bees usually gather together in a nearby tree while scout bees are sent out to search for suitable new accommodation. Apparently, the scouts completely overlooked our luxury five-star hive, ready and waiting for its first occupants, and instead chose a hollow tree in the nearby woodland!

Fortunately for us, his second swarm settled in a hedge where it was much easier to reach. He transferred them into a temporary polystyrene hive ready to bring them to us. The bees, however, had other ideas and promptly swarmed again.

By now it was getting dark, so he had little choice but to put them back into a hive overnight, making the whole relocation rather more complicated than planned.

And so it was that, at 9.30 the following evening, John and I found ourselves driving very cautiously along the A591 with an entire colony of bees in the back of the car… both wearing full bee suits, just in case of emergencies.

It was probably the slowest mile and a half John has ever driven.

I can only apologise to the van driver who came up behind us, sat rather close to our bumper and eventually blasted his horn as we gingerly turned the corner into our lane. I have to believe had he known all the facts, he would have been a little more understanding. 😬

Once home, John had the unenviable task of lifting the heavy hive out of the car and carrying it down to its new home. It’s not a job you’d want to do too often.

Because the swarm had already spent a night back in a hive at its original location, the foraging bees had begun orientating themselves to that site. To encourage them to accept their new home, we fitted an entrance blocker that looked like an oversized elastic band.

The sugar syrup feeding began immediately and, for the next three days, the entrance remained restricted while the bees reset their internal sat nav. With temperatures still soaring and little airflow, we positioned our garden parasol over the hive to provide some much-needed shade and prevent it from overheating.

I was so relieved when we could finally release the bees out into the world. They decided to stay, and everything is looking promising.

To bee continued… 🐝