We have a swarm!

[John Fenna]

I came home from doing my stuff at Castell Henllys , teaching flint and steel firelighting, to find access to my drive blocked by an unknown car...
It turns out my wife had discovered a swam of Honey Bees had colonised one of our compost bins and had arranged for a local bee keeper to collect it...easier said than done!
The swarm had been in the bin for a maximum of 3 days but had already made a lot of comb and the bee keeper could not easily get it all out and despite dumping the majority of the comb, that had been in the lid, the comb in the lid did not had the Queen - and so the bees crawled out of the travelling hive back into the bin!
He has left the hive over the bin and will return tomorrow, fully kitted out , to scoop the bees out and take them away.
I tried some of the honey - made from plants in our garden - from the comb recovered from the bin and it is fantastic!
The bee keeper promises us some more honey in return for the swarm
Not my finest photos - but most of the time I had a comb of honey in one hand and the camera in the other and I did not want to get too close
Fantastic honey it is too!

 

[Tengu]

Yes, they do seem to like compost bins, dont they?

The one time they swarmed in my bin was the summer I was away; Otherwise I would have got a hive and had the beekeeper stow them in that.

Shame you cant keep them.

I knew someone who had a smallholding...on an urban flat balcony.

Hutch of rabbits one end, Bantams loose everywhere, and a beehive in the corner.

City gardens have many flowers for them to exploit.

 

[Bazzworx]

This year the swarms have been crazy!! We've caught about 10 swarms this year. Its always amazes me how quickly they can draw comb when they are in swarm mode.

You should have kept them John, beekeeping is a really rewarding hobby that mostly pays for itself.