I suppose it had to happen--for a long time, I have been just happily
reading this list in hopes of someday getting my act together and setting
up a hive.  Today my parents discovered a small colony of bees in their
backyard and are wanting me to remove/relocate it or find someone to do
the job.  I would like to try "capture" this colony and try to keep it
alive through the winter.
 
First I need to identify the bees.  My mother thinks that they are
honeybees. They are currently living in comb against bare dirt in a
shallow depression under a board.  The comb is about 6 inches in diameter.
I think they may be bombus rather than apis, after hearing stories of
honeybees setting up housekeeping in high places like trees, chimneys,
attics, and walls, and bumblebees in heaps of lawn debris.  I don't think
I can tell a honeybee from a bumblebee without a side-by-side comparison,
however.
 
So my question is what will I need/expect for the task?  I plan to phone
an extension agent tomorrow afternoon, but I'd like to be able to fall
back on other advice as well.
 
I already have a veil.  :)
 
/'''  Collin Forbes
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 `'`  http://kuoi.asui.uidaho.edu/~collinf/