Since I live on a farm I get the joys of multiple garages, barns, and storage areas. When going out to one of the old horse barns on a Saturday morning I noticed an increased volume of bugs, bees, and other flying around. We have plenty of carpenter bees flying around constantly eating up the wood beams and what not, but this time I noticed smaller bees, flying in and out from what seemed like a concentrated spot. What does anyone do when they see this… WHERES THE CAN O’ WHOOPASS.. Or RAID, or whatever you have that kills wasps, hornets, etc.
Luckily I’m a terrible shot, and these buggers were hard to get to.. So I missed most of it and only killed maybe 1 or 2 bees. Upon further inspection I noticed they weren’t attacking me nor anything else so I looked at the dead bee, did some research and what do ya know, its honey bees. From the entrance it seemed like they were camping out under my floorboards–a very tight space with really no way in or out.. besides the little hole they made. Perfect for a bee hive.. Cozy in the winter, protected from predators (for the most part), and easy to defend an entrance with such a small area.
Fast forward a bit (2 months) and my friend Jim Leether stops by some Saturday with beekeeping equipment, hive, and everything needed to move these guys to a safer area where they can thrive and produce honey and wax that can be harvested! Oh.. and I would get to use my workshop again, inside the horse barn, without disturbing them :). Without further ado… Pictures!
Brandon
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