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[KNat <knat AT sprintmail.com>]

VAN DELL JORDAN wrote:
> Is anyone in the group a beekeeper?  

I live with bees. Not sure who's the keeper yet. I just started last 
year. Had a wonderful new experience with swarming/mating flight 
Saturday. March, I had thought I lost my hive (or as good as.) The 
numbers were way down and all the other hives in the area, and all the 
hives of several friends who had gotten bees last year from the same 
source were lost. I got a new batch in an additional hive and then the 
first started picking up too. Well, they must have decided to replace 
the queen. They came out of the old hive and started circling it, 
raising to a spiral just above it. Then they beelined to the base of a 
tree and spiraled up it in a line til they got reassembled in a cloud at 
the top. I went in to call an experienced beekeeper. After a bit I went 
out and they came down to a cloud around me (I've had that happen 
before, the kids call it Mama walking the bees. One son also walks 
bees.) Anyway, I walked to the hive and they went back in except for a 
small cluster at the top of the tree. I went in to get ready to go out 
and when I came out a queen and her court landed on me. I overreacted 
and shook them off. They reformed their circle on the ground. The queen 
in the middle and 5 then 7 surrounding her head in, tail out, around her 
in an even circle. I got out a box and put a board down for her/them to 
walk onto and lifted her/them into a box but scared some of them off. 
We'll see if they return to the original and overthrow or begin anew a 
third colony. My project for this sunny day is to build another hive, 
just in case.

Peace,
Kathyann

ps my survivors were wild caught then added to with a commercial queen 
last year.  My friends got all commercial. don't know if it makes a 
difference but I definitely prefer the personality of the wild caught. 
here's a hunting box http://outdoorplace.org/beekeeping/history2.htm
A beekeepers calendar http://www.backyardbeekeepers.com/to-do.html