They will no longer be called the "Bees who sting first and ask questions later", they shall now be called the "McFadden Bees". <insert dramatic fanfare here>
I like them. The hive is loaded with bees, they must have started their build up early. I believe that these bees were feral bees that Pat McFadden and a friend of his collected from a structure one day. I don't know when this happened but his son-in-law, Peter, witnessed the collection and told me that even on that day they weren't a happy lot. As you can see in the video, I stirred them up quite a bit, but they weren't nearly as aggressive as they were last fall when I first tried to move them. I finally broke down and purchased a hive net. Ramona and I moved them Friday night the 29th of March. They seem to be settling in very well.
What I like about them is their numerical strength this early in the season. All of this without my interference. If I can, I will split the hive and make two colonies out of the one. I'll let the bees produce a new queen for the new colony from their own stock. I am trying to make plans to witness hive splitting with the Vinduska's and with McCreight. I met McCreight on the 31st at an Easter Pageant and he seems to have his beekeeping act together. I could learn a lot from either of these men.
Check out the video http://youtu.be/uq2FfJcfkuI
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