We have bees!

Here at Norwich Community Bees, we've been on high alert for the past week as we've been waiting and hoping that we might get a swarm.  After a few false starts (warm morning followed by wind and cloud in the afternoon) I finally got the call on Friday afternoon!  Beekeeper-extraordinaire Colin had found a swarm for us!

One rapid round of mails, calls and texts later, and Tom stepped forward to meet Colin at Norwich Farmshare to install the bees in the hive.

Despite a slight technical hitch that meant there was only one suit available, Tom got some great shots of the bees heading into their new home!

The next afternoon, Dan, Bee, Suzanne and I headed over to the site to see how they were settling in and add some additional frames. It was the first time I'd suited up and got up close and personal with a hive, and I was quite nervous, but as soon as we opened the hive, you could just hear that the bees were getting on fine, and they were really calm while we checked them out and added the frames.

It was a fantastic experience, and I can't wait to go back and see how they're getting on.  As Dan said, watching them flying in and out of the hive and listening to the buzzing is so peaceful, you could quite imagine bringing a deckchair and a nice bottle of wine and making an afternoon of it!

We'll be feeding them this week, and in a week or so, Colin will come back and give them a health-check for us.  Watch this space and we'll let you know the plans.

If you're not yet a member and are interested in knowing more about Norwich Community Bees, drop us a line at norwichcommunitybees@hotmail.co.uk.  We'd love to hear from you!

Pics: Colin transferring the bees from skep to hive.  Watching the bees marching into their new home.  Jon (l) and Dan (r) adding frames to the hive.