Comfortable Salem Swarm

The caller said the swarm was in her backyard tree and sure enough, there it is!

This is a typical swarm size.

2016 was a busy year for swarm calls. Every call had a twist and this one was no different. The lady in Salem, Mo. said she had been ill for the past week and only today looked outside her back door to find a bee swarm in her backyard tree.

As we removed the first bunch of bees, the comb they had built on the branch became apparent. These bees had been in the tree long enough to start building comb.

Comb on fruit tree branches under where the swarm was hanging.

We also found comb built on the back of tree leaves.

Once we scraped the comb off the tree limb, no bees returned to the swarm spot.

Brand new comb being built on the back of leaves.

Bees follow the queen into the hive under the careful watch of my bee buddy David. After we had most of the bees, we sealed up the front, tucked the hive in the back of the car and headed home.

The colony is doing well in its new home so far. 

Charlotte