Thread by @DustinBajer

I did not think that I would be beekeeping 🐝 in January but was contacted by a family that spotted a wild honeybee colony in a tree 🌲 toppled by Tuesday’s Snow Squall 💨

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature #yegwx

I was teaching a bee course and wasn’t able to check out the honeybees until this morning - so the family went back and covered the exposed colony with a blanket and tarp.

Yay, family!!

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature

The bees made their home in a hollow cavity at the base of an old spruce tree. They looked like they’d been there for 3 or 4 years.

Unfortunately, the rot that created the cavity undermined the structural integrity of the tree.

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature

The bees managed to survive the last few days by clustering together and shaking their flight muscles 💪.

But with the forecasted downturn, they wouldn’t be able to survive for much longer.

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature

It took 3 hours, but we gradually removed bees, brood, and honeycomb from the exposed colony and transferred them into a hive.

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature

Here’s the wild colony at their new home in my backyard. They're well wrapped but not in the clear.

The odds of surviving are still low but are much better than they were. Not much more we can do until spring.

Good luck, little bees!

#yegbees #yegfood #yeggarden #yegnature