Bee Hunters

This year we’ve been called out to swarms on no less than eleven occasions.

Each time we’ve found ways to locate the bees in a variety of ways. In one instance new friends with a huge garden decided to give the colony a fantastic new home.

Mr was about how we installed a hive at their house here.

Since then, this family and their teenage sons have become avid bee-ophiles.

So much so, their eldest boy noticed something on his morning cycle route to school.

We got a call.

So, like all good bee detectives, we travelled to the spot en mass.

This lovely row of trees has some interesting residents. Our eagle eyed junior apiarist had spotted something special.

Like a moment from Yogi Bear
http://funniermoments.com/mobile//watch.php?vid=6ff5da770

We all peered up into the skies. The more eagle eyed among us spotted what the boy had noticed when cycling past. Bees flying in and out of a giant knot in the tree.

Wild honey bees in Europe have become a rare thing. The way that people have populated by clearing land and forestry means that there are seldom living or dead trees that make appropriate homes for them. So this was a really unusual site. We don’t know how ling they’ve been there or whether their colony will sustain in this location but hopefully the cycle journey will enable some further monitoring.

Watch this space!

Stop Press! just found this post.
Tree beekeeping in Eastern Europe