I was not sure where to put this thread, either here or on my thread about life on the Hill. I figured it was big enough to have its own place. I was mowing up in the field a few years ago and got the call of nature . Well, its fairly private up there in the field so I just stopped the old Alis-Chalmers and got off to take care of things. There is a huge old Toby tree there where I stopped as well as a walnut tree that I had planted. As I stood there I heard this very strange noise. I would not discribe it as a hummmm, more of a Drone. Well I wondered if something was wrong with the tractor, but it was turned off and quiet, I started to look around and saw directly over my head up in the walnut tree a swarm of about 10,000 Honey Bees. I did not pull that number out of the air, the Bee Keeper who came to get the swarm told me that was about how many bees were in a swarm that large. I hurried to finish my business you might say, and got back on the tractor and took off. I called a friend of mine who had a swarm at her place and she gave me the name & number of a Bee Keeper who would come and get the swarm. I wanted a bee hive up in the upper field way away from the house, my wife hates bees and she is alergic to their stings, but I felt it would be a good thing to have around the place. He came the next night to get the bees. 2 of my grand kids were in visiting as well as a neighbors grandson. It was a community event you might say, we all went up to watch what this " Expert " was going to do. Well, we walked up into the field, he had nothing with him except a small wooden box. I showed him the swarm way up in the walnut tree, he looked around and said that there was most likely a hive some place close that these bees had come from. He looked around and found the wild hive in the Toby tree. He told me that having a wild hive was a good thing and we should leave it alone. He asked if I minded him cutting the branch off the walnut tree, I said it was OK, my neighbor went down and got his big ladder, and a saw, and some rope, the expert had not come very prepaired, lol. He climbed up into the walnut tree and tied a rope around the branch. we then tied it off down below so that it was secure. He then cut off the branch with the swarm of bees hanging from it. When it was cut through the limb dropped suddenly and because it was tied off below it jerked when it fell, this caused about 1/2 of the 10,000 bees to fall off the swarm and hit the ground. As you might imagine this was quite the surprise to everyone, including the " Expert " and we all started to run. The bees were pretty laid back though and did not chase us or the Grand Kids. He told me that those bees were all full of honey, they gorge themselves with honey befor the leave the old hive to swarm. He said all they want is a home, and I am going to give them one. He lowered the branch to the ground and with out any safety equipment of any kind he picked up the branch and shook it into his wooden box. He shook it several times to get all of the bees off the branch. The Queen bee was on the branch when he shook them into his box, that was more luck than good management. At that point the Queen is in the box and all of the bees started to walk toward that box, up the side of the box and go right in to protect the Queen. I am sure you have heard of a Bee Line, but I had never really seem one befor, it was amazing. When all of the bees were in his box he put on a tight lid and took them to his place. He told me that he would not give me a hive for the upper field because of the cost. He said if they swarm again he might consider giving me a hive, he would get all of the honey, I would get the pollination of my plants . The wild bee hive in the old toby tree is still there, I watch it every spring for another swarm but so far I have not seen one. It is pretty neat to watch the bees come and go out of the tree.
Here is the Toby Tree
Here is where the bees fly in to land, they use that small branch as a place to land and wait their turn to get into the hive inside the tree
Here is another picture of the Bees coming and going. I have never been stung when I go up there to look at the bees,
Does anyone in the group actually keep bees intentionally? They do so much good for the garden and the orchard. I am just happy to have these wild ones here on the hill to help me out.