In February 2024, a long-time acquaintance and beekeeping mentor friend, Scott with Blackland Prairie Bees was tasked with removing bees from a water meter box. He asked if I wanted to help. Of course I said yes!

This was my first hands-on experience with bees, but Scott repeatedly assured me, “Trust your suit.” As we got into the hive, there were moments when the buzzing became so intense that I had to step away for a few minutes just to catch my breath!

For this removal, Scott was planning to relocate them to his apiary. So we setup a hive next to the water meter. We slowly cut through the honeycomb inside the water meter, as it was full of eggs and baby bees, and we carefully attached it to a wooden frame with rubber bands and put it in the new hive. We tried to preserve as much of their honeycomb as possible to increase their chances of sticking around instead of abandoning the new home.

During this process, we were continually searching for the Queen Bee. The most exhilarating moment came when I was the one to spot the queen! All those hours of watching bee videos really paid off! We put the queen in a cage and put her in the new hive. The queen is essential to the hive’s survival, and finding her meant the colony would have a great chance of thriving.

Here’s a video of the day’s adventures:

Overall, it was such an exciting day! I learned so much, and it was such an honor!

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This story continues: Bee School

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