Sidewalk Swarm in the City

I had fun this afternoon. My husband was on his way to a meeting via BART and walked past a swarm and called home. All the rig is at my father’s house up in Sac so I just put on latex gloves and my parka that fits tight around the waist and wrists and walked up to the next block.

The goofy bees had stopped. On the sidewalk. Across a driveway into St Luke’s Hospital’s entrance. A good Sam had stopped and was making cars go around.

Big beautiful black bottomed Queen right smack in the middle of the pool of bees. So inconvenient. What is it with bees? I got busy sweeping them slowly into a box, and answering all the questions. They ranged from panicked “Oh Oh Oh, they’re in your HAIR oH God!!” to “what’s wrong with them?” and Why did they stop here?"

“No worries, swarms are calm because they have fully tummies and no hive or honey to protect. I’ll be fine.”

'Nothing, they are just bees being bees. (short lecture, to those persisting on the topic, about old queens and new queens and hive propagation.)

“I don’t know, they didn’t tell me. Maybe the Queen got tired and ran out of gas. They are waiting for scouts to find them a new home before they go anywhere.”

One guy who was fascinated and taking a million pictures wanted us to open the box up once it was closed and being taped shut. UHHH. yeah. NO. “Sorry, this is real life, not a photo op.” Said with a smail, but still. Open the frickin box??

Happily a guy drove by, as I was herding them into the box, who has 4 hives and could give them a home. Because as much as I wanted to bring them home and rig something up until I could get up to Sacramento, that would not be best for the bees and unlike Vallie, I do NOT have my hive yet. (Are you listening Cedar and Stuart? Your names were being taken in vain today! You have no idea how irritated I was that my daughter found the campaign late enough in the game that I won’t see my hive until September!! ; -)

If the guy actually sends me pics I’ll post em.

Man it would have been cool to have had a swarm from a block from my house…

Video posted ; -)
https://video-sjc2-1.xx.fbcdn.net/hvideo-xaf1/v/t42.1790-2/11657790_10153075381009790_1729978704_n.mp4?oh=d73df9c556879320dca223d4d8aa6302&oe=558A1C57

Hey you are lucky you found it when you did. My dad didn’t find it until it was like week away from ending, then by the time I stewed over it and pulled the trigger there was only a few hours left. I will probably be the last person on the forum to get theirs lol. Ah well good things come to those that wait right?

Yeah Yeah Yeah. Yesterday and tomorrow I will be all grown up and ‘c’est la vie’.

Tonight? I am sulking because that guy got MY bees!!!

Man… They were so cool, and that Queen as SO pretty!

Wahah.

That would have been awesome to have some truly backyard bees. Too bad you couldn’t have taken your own pics but I imagine you had your hands just a little bit full.

What was the scenario for your swarm? Did you get to keep em??

I saw the queen but couldn’t really cage her and leave the box for the swarm to climb into. Had to get them out of traffic. They were smack dab in the middle of the drive way for the hospital! But yeah, I thought about that as I was sweeping them up.

And don’t nit pick on my baby bee 101 lecture. I was going for the easy explanation for the crowd that was hovering! At one point the phrase “larve bathed in royal jelly” slipped out and I shut up. TMI ; -)

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