Bees will move into just about any sheltered space, and a jacuzzi is no exception. This one had a full colony of Apis mellifera scutellata (the African honeybee) living in the cavity underneath it. To rescue them, we first had to get the whole side panel off.

Getting Under the Jacuzzi

The panels fought us every step of the way. Until that side came off, we couldn’t see how far the colony ran. When it finally opened, we could tell straight away that these bees had been there a long time. There was stored honey everywhere, and we could smell the hive before we even started cutting.

Honey on the Outside, Brood on the Inside

Building comb on this scale takes years. Bees organise their nest in a predictable way: honey is kept on the outskirts, and the brood (the developing baby bees) is kept in the centre, where the queen is usually found.

That meant the honey had to come out first. Removing it from the areas we could safely reach gave us room to see what had been built behind it. It was winter, and the cold had made the honey thick and the comb firmer to work with.

Reaching the Brood

Once we reached the brood comb, the job changed. Brood can’t be handled like a bucket of honey. Every piece has to come out carefully so the colony’s next generation survives the move.

Some cells had been cleaned out in the middle, ready for the queen to lay eggs, and other pieces held young bees that were due to hatch within two or three days.

Pro Tip: You can tell drone brood from worker brood by the size of the cells. Drone cells, where the male bees are raised, are noticeably bigger. This colony had some of the longest, fattest drone cells we’ve ever seen.

The Final Cluster

With the brood out, all that was left was old honeycomb and the last mass of bees in the cavity. Tucked up out of sight was a large clump we hadn’t spotted earlier, and we suspected the queen was inside it, with her workers clustered around to protect her.

The cameras ran out before we could confirm whether we had her, so the final sweep and the move to the colony’s new home weren’t filmed. What we can say is that the brood made it out safely, which gives the colony the best chance at a fresh start.

Opening Up vs. Trapping Out

This removal worked because we could open the cavity and work through the colony piece by piece. When that isn’t possible, we use a slower, non-destructive approach called a trap-out.

Got bees under a jacuzzi, deck, or garden structure? Get in touch with Bee Sanctuary, and we’ll relocate them safely and humanely.