Adventures in growing our own food, raising livestock and beekeeping on less than one acre
My last couple of inspections I have found that a colony that has always been quite placid and easy to handle has become very aggressive. Last week took me by surprise as the bees poured out of the hive despite my smoking them and surrounded me in a cloud. Constantly banging against my face shield and repeatedly trying to sting through my protective clothing.
With swarm control in mind I spent the afternoon sorting out all my spare beekeeping equipment, ensuring I have spare hives available in case I need to artificially swarm a colony at short notice. Everything was spread out in the sunshine, checked over and cleaned. Two spare hives were assembled including supers. Anything I was short of was listed for ordering.