A Kamado is a older Japanese version of The Big Green Egg. In fact that is where the idea came from.  Many people in Hawaii have the Kamado’s because of their Japanese ancestry. A few even have ones that aren’t cracked. Very few have more than one, this guy had TWO in great shape. The bees had gotten into a box he used for storage of extra stuff he had around.  He believed they had been there about a week, and they looked like it since they had built comb.  It was getting dark when I got there and put them in the nuc. They were tired after a long day of nectar gathering so they calmed down and went into the box fairly quickly.

She has helped with a swarm before, but this was much larger and in a cabinet.  She is a real trooper!  She wanted to get in there and do it, with instruction of course. IfShe has helped with a swarm before, but this was much larger an in a cabinet.  She is a real trooper!  She wanted to get in there and do it, with instruction of course. It you look closely you will see our very expensive beekeeping tool we use to scoop bees with. This was such a large hive we decided to leave them overnight and get them the next evening. you look closely you will see our very expensive beekeeping tool we use to scoop bees with. This was such a large hive we decided to leave them overnight and get them the next evening.

That is what the woman said when she told me there was a swarm in her cabinet on the lanai.  I will admit it was a large swarm, and they had built some comb, but it was not millions.  I scooped and scooped bees, they finally got into the box.

When bees swarm they send out scouts to find a good place to live.  Well the scouts found this place. It is a crossfit step box.  These girls were not happy I was moving them. They buzzed me and kept it up till I got all of the comb moved into the nuc. After that they calmed down and moved in.

Swarms shouldn’t be happening this time of year, but they are.  I am wondering if all of the construction is causing problems.  This one was on a very large branch so I couldn’t just shake them into the nuc.  I had to use my very special beekeepers tool, (a fast food cup). These girls were putting wax onto the branch to hold on.  When I put most of them into the nuc everyone else followed quickly.

Bees like dark, closed in spaces, and people find it surprising that they find a great place to live in compost bins.  This one had been there about 2 weeks, there was even brood.

This is what all the work is for. We pulled about 30 pounds of honey. This is from two hives we have been working with for over a year.

The woman called and said there were a bunch of bees in a Starfruit tree in her back yard. I gave her the standard answer that they would leave between 3 and 5 pm, if they didn’t call back. She called back, when we got there we saw the very small group had built comb and looked like they were planning on staying. We scraped off the comb from the branch and everyone just jumped right in.

The people were very calm when they called. They saw the bees swarm around the rubbish can and thought is was interesting.  I wasn’t sure what I would find when I opened it up, but found it was around the rim. That was a surprise, every time I have opened up a rubbish can they have been on the lid. I scooped them into the nuc and waited.  They weren’t trying to sting me, they just wanted to get to the queen. After a few minutes most of them were in the box.

The guy said he had bees in his boat. What he didn’t say was that the boat has been sitting since 1996. But he was a good neighbor, he wanted the bees removed because he was afraid his neighbors kids would get stung. We had to cut open the side of the boat. There was lots of brood and very wet honey.