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