Friday night, after a busy week, dinner done, just washing up, ready to relax, I look out of the kitchen window: is that black blob hanging off the nut tree a swarm ?? Quick change into bee kit, and out to try and brush migrant bees into my cardboard "swarm box", some of them had other ideas... Decide best plan is to leave those that I'd collected in it overnight.
Next morning sprayed my empty hive with "Bee charm" and put some old built frames inside (also meant to be irresistible to bees) and tried to entice bees from box into hive. Left them to it and went to do Saturday morning errands. As I drove back into the drive a cloud of bees seemed to be heading off over our neighbour's garden - bad news? But then a cluster of bees appeared on the olive tree, brushed these into the swarm box... some more then seemed to be congregating on the lavender next to olive tree - decided to try a more direct route, and moved hive 1 next to this patch ( tricky as you can see, my vision was limited!), chopped off the branch of lavender and popped it directly into the hive - closed hive up...
Then saw more bees on the next lavender bush. Chopped this off and put it in swarm box.
Left everything to settle and went out out (drinks and stuff) - Yay!
Sunday morning asked for assistance from husband - this time with us both kitted in matching bee-suits, we managed 'a quick lid half off, bees brushed out of box into hive, lid back on' manoeuvre. After a few minutes I opened the entrance to the hive just a little bit, and again have retreated to leave them alone...
Fingers crossed !
ps - pink flowers are what my mum called Ragged Robin (not the lavender, which isn't yet in flower). We have loads of this in the garden (in France) and I think I was told that its now rare in the Uk