Good News

I located a wild nest of Japanese honey bees in the wall of an old wooden building on the Hakozaki Campus today. It looks like it should be pretty easy to remove the colony, so I am very happy for the discovery.

Now, let me tell you how this discovery came about. As I was thinking about where to locate the hive box for the next swarm that comes out of my hive on the roof, I thought that it might be best to put it somewhere away from the original colony rather than next to it on the roof. I am not sure, but I wondered if placing it further away in a “different neighborhood” might increase the chances of successfully establishing a swarm in a new hive box. That way, the bees would not be familiar with the new surroundings and I believe that bees normally try to move some distance away from their mother colony when they swarm. So, I started thinking about where on campus would be a good place I could put them. I took a walk to see if I could locate a good site where the weeds were not too tall but where there was shade, and one thing led to another. I could see in my mind’s eye a place I had visited before and it presented itself to my mind in a positive way as being a good candidate location. I therefore went to that location and found the “perfect spot” (in my mind) where I could place a beehive in a sheltered, shady, out-of-the-way location. Much to my surprise, when I got there I noticed a bee flying and followed the activity and saw more bees flying in and out of a hole in the outer wall of the building. It is an old wooden building and the wood siding looks thin and should be easy to remove.

I will talk to the necessary building administrators and physical facilities people to get permission to remove the bees from the wall, and that will be good practice for when I travel to Mie Prefecture to remove another colony there. The spot where I found them is in a location where Japanese honey bees have made nests in the past. I can see the remains of old colonies that were there years past under the eaves of the building. The more I think about it, the more I think that these bees are probably the same bees that swarmed from my hive on the roof of the Agriculture building. The prior failure and disappointment of losing the first swarm appears to be going to change into a blessing and success. I am also very happy to have had this experience today because today is a special date for me. I am not going to explain why, but some readers will know what I mean by that. I feel very happy and blessed to have found the wild bee colony today. It has been a good day with good news.