greetings all:
Im a first year new-bee, i started beekeeping to improve production in my
apricot orchard and other garden areas i have, but have found this one of the
most interesting,worthwhilw projects i have ever done. i am requried by law
to register with the county i reside in (monterey,ca.) which i did in march
after recieving my package of bees andgot my hive started, i got a call from
the SPCA in a nieghboring town asking if would  get a swarm  out of a tree in
someones front yard, i said sure and packed up my stuff armed with techniques
from this forum (however i left my shotgun at home) the swarm was in a pepper
tree about ten feet off the ground and it was huge (to me). up my ladder with
my pruning shears, hat and veil i was able to gently prune around the swarm
and bring it down intact. on closer inspection the bees were surrounding a
foot ball size comb. i was able to put the swarm, comb, branches and leaves
in a auper with the frames removed wrap the whole thing up with dense plastic
shade mesh
and wonder what to do next on my way home. After setting up the hive and
getting some feeders going about 1/2 hr. later i was able to open the top and
of the super and begin to gently cut out the branches and leaves that the
comb had been formed around, opening one section of the comb the queen walked
out across the top and down the feeder hole just like a model down the
runway. after three sessions working in the hive today i have the hive
pretty well cleaned out, the bees are feeding (sugar syrup) like crazy and
don't seem to mind to much my antics, i only have three frames in the super,
there is too much comb that is hatching bees (fascinating to watch) i don't
know what to do next. I did recieve 3-4 stings on my bare hands taking the
swarm down, but the bees have been a very tolerant group and have not stung
me since. Any tips, advice would bee most appreciated.

many thanx

lance almond
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