Welcome back to the Bee Sanctuary! Today’s rescue took us to the south of Johannesburg for a high-stakes removal from a borehole tap box located right on a public pavement.

This colony had become a serious safety concern; they were stinging pedestrians and recently went “mental” on the local garden service. It was time to give these ladies a safer home in our Chartwell Apiary.

The “Borehole” Breakdown

This was an exceptionally strong and established colony. When we opened the lid, we were greeted by “beards” of bees hanging from the cavity.

• The Queen’s Productivity: We found evidence of a powerhouse queen. The brood pattern was nearly perfect, with fresh eggs visible even on the outermost pieces of comb.
• Sign of Success (and Splitting): We found several hatched queen cells. This tells us the colony had grown so large that they had already swarmed (split) at least once or twice before we arrived.
• Drone Contribution: The hive was also producing a healthy number of drones (male bees). Drones come from unfertilised eggs and are essential for mating with virgin queens in the area.

The Technical Struggle: The Lid Challenge

We encountered one major hurdle tonight: the bees had built their comb directly onto the underside of the heavy borehole lid.

• The Risk: Lifting and laying down a lid covered in comb runs a massive risk of squashing the queen or damaging the delicate brood.
• The Lesson: We realized we need to build a specialized tripod or rack for future “lid removals” so we can keep the comb hanging vertically while we vacuum and extract.

Relocating to Chartwell

Despite the technical difficulty, we successfully vacuumed the majority of the bees using a gentle suction setting on the bee vac. We worked quickly to ensure the brood didn’t get cold during transport.

Once we reached the Chartwell Apiary, we realized just how heavy the vacuum box was—a sure sign of a massive population. We’ve hived them into a full brood box with all their original comb securely rubber-banded into frames.

As we enter our second year of beekeeping, rescues like this are exactly what we need to reach our 3 to 300 hive goal.

Want to see the “Borehole Beards” in action?

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Quick Question: How would you handle a heavy lid covered in live comb? Would you build a tripod or try to vacuum them in place? Let’s talk shop in the comments!