What excitement there was in the gardens today! Did you wonder what was going on?
Lizzie from Elizabeth House (who has Pumba the cat!) and Karen D, also from Elizabeth house, spotted a strange site. Clusters of bees gathering on the ground near the nearby trees.
David S in Rendel commented that there was a big queen bee buzzing around recently, and Lizzy said another resident had spotted a big swarm a few days ago. It seems the bees were after a new home!
They called a bee expert from Epsom Beekeepers, and they were out very very quickly. They managed to suit up, get up into the tree where they found a big nest, and collected as many of the bees as they could. As you can see from the pictures, they needed a lot of protection and had a very special carrying crate.
Once they had got back to the base, they sent Lizzie a picture of the bees in their new home! They had to leave behind a couple of tiny nests, and these bees will hopefully relocate (or else they just die off without the Queen.) They got as many bees as they could whilst they were here.
Excitement over for now, and well done the gang on our WhatsApp group for collaborating so well today! Thank you to everyone concerned. And to Steve R for his funny picture of his suggestion for helping with the bees, a man dressed up in a Winnie the Pooh suit!
Find out more about Epsom Beekeepers Association on their Facebook page or on their website, they do courses on beekeeping and also sell honey!
Lizzie from Elizabeth House (who has Pumba the cat!) and Karen D, also from Elizabeth house, spotted a strange site. Clusters of bees gathering on the ground near the nearby trees.
David S in Rendel commented that there was a big queen bee buzzing around recently, and Lizzy said another resident had spotted a big swarm a few days ago. It seems the bees were after a new home!
They called a bee expert from Epsom Beekeepers, and they were out very very quickly. They managed to suit up, get up into the tree where they found a big nest, and collected as many of the bees as they could. As you can see from the pictures, they needed a lot of protection and had a very special carrying crate.
Once they had got back to the base, they sent Lizzie a picture of the bees in their new home! They had to leave behind a couple of tiny nests, and these bees will hopefully relocate (or else they just die off without the Queen.) They got as many bees as they could whilst they were here.
Excitement over for now, and well done the gang on our WhatsApp group for collaborating so well today! Thank you to everyone concerned. And to Steve R for his funny picture of his suggestion for helping with the bees, a man dressed up in a Winnie the Pooh suit!
Find out more about Epsom Beekeepers Association on their Facebook page or on their website, they do courses on beekeeping and also sell honey!