As a novice beekeeper (2nd year) I was faced with a challenge yesterday.

My Brother was getting married at one in the afternoon on Saturday In Atherton, Ca (Heart
of the Silicon Valley) Being in the wedding party, I got to the house at 10:45 to find the
owner and his wife staring in amazement at a cloud of honey bees....

She had called a local beekeeper that told them there was nothing to be done at that time of
day, just don't bother them....  well, 200 people and a wedding is hardly "not bothering
them".
They had clustered on a high (30+ ft) oak tree branch above the back yard. I noticed a small
cluster on the ground below it. It was getting bigger by the minute. So, I took my suit coat
off,  got a box from the owner, baited it with a little honey from the kitchen, and to the
amazement of myself, and everyone else there, hived my first swarm! No gloves, veil,
nothing.Got a fireplace shovel, found the mound that looked like it had the Queen in it,
scooped it in the front opening I cut in the box. All the girls on the ground followed her in in
about 20 minutes! I figure between 2-3 pounds of healthy looking Carinolans. Some with full
pollen baskets.

I moved them away from the middle of the yard about 6 ft at a time, every 20 minutes or so,
and by the 1:00 start time, they were in the corner of the yard (behind the playhouse the kids
used all day!). There they stayed until dark, when the "beekeeper" came to collect them.

I'd have taken them, but I live 4 hrs away and had a car full of family.

So reading BEE-L can help in the strangest ways......

Mark