Spring 2020 has officially arrived in Johannesburg, and you know what that means: removal season is back! Ethan and I headed out for our first rescue of the spring, and let me tell you, it was a solid way to kick things off.

Don’t Forget the Essentials

We almost had a major “oops” moment before even leaving the driveway. We nearly forgot the buckets! When you’re doing a removal, you need at least two: one for the honeycomb and one for the brood comb. We also made sure to grab the toolbox, which ended up being a lifesaver for accessing the space where the bees were tucked away.

The Mission: The Plumbing Pipe Hive

The bees had chosen a very specific spot: a vertical channel behind a board housing plumbing pipes. They were entering right at the top, and we suspected they had built their comb downward from the ceiling.

Once we unscrewed the panel and took a look—wow. It was a beautiful, massive hive with long, healthy combs and a high population of bees. We fired up the bee vac to safely collect the workers before moving on to the comb extraction.

The Late-Night Relocation

By the time we finished and headed to the Kyalami apiary, it was already 9:00 PM. Here’s what we discovered during the process:

• Low Honey Reserves: There was almost no honey. It looks like the bees burned through their resources to survive the winter.
• Plenty of Pollen: While honey was low, they had plenty of pollen stored up.
• Signs of Growth: Ethan spotted a lot of drone cells and several queen cells. This colony was definitely getting ready to expand!

Settling in at the Sanctuary

We moved the bees straight to our sanctuary in Kyalami under the cover of night. I had a choice to make: keep them sealed in the box for 24 hours to let them settle, or let them out immediately with a queen guard.

We opted to get them onto the stand quickly, ensuring the queen stayed put while the rest of the colony adjusted to their new 10-frame home. It was a long day, but getting this strong swarm into the apiary is a huge step toward our 3 to 300 goal.

Stay tuned for more removals as the spring heat picks up!

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