Second Floor Dormer Removal

This colony swarmed last Friday while I was out of town. Another beekeeper snagged the swarm, however the parent colony was still in the home. Way up in the soffit of a 2nd story dormer.. The homeowner had spray-foamed their entrance in an effort to kill the bees… I opened up a hole for the bees last Saturday – and completed the bee removal this afternoon. Once opened up, there were plenty of bees, capped brood, and queen cells. I pulled 8 queen cells, then noticed that one was open – that was not open when I had pulled it 15 minutes earlier… And I watched another queen emerge. Here’s the rest of the queen cells – and a pic of the biggest queen cup I’ve ever handled. wink emoticon – they will be a good addition to the bee yard – and the queen cells can go into splits to make new hives.