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Help save the bees!

A blog following the beekeepers at the University of Washington.

Wednesday, May 16, 2012

Swarm season! Bees everywhere!

Swarms began to appear a month ago but reached a peak last weekend. Although our 6 swarm traps did not collect any, there was intense scout activity at half of them. A loose swarm was collected in Oregon by Professor Evan Sugden while on a field mission and installed in one of our hives on return. Here are some pics of that exciting adventure (as swarm capture always is!)

Walking into a swarm!





Swarm up close (in a rose bush at McMenamin's, Troutdale, OR).
After it settled for the evening, it was put neatly into a box for transport to UW!



Swarm finds a home!
The swarm box is coupled with a hive, allowing the swarm bees to march right into a perfect new home! (This swarm dispersed 200 miles with some help!) Welcome swarm colony No. 1!



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