It is useful to have at least two colonies of bees – one can be used to “help” the other if there are any problems. Once we had got our new bees settled this spring I had my eyes out for another colony. I was very excited to hear about a swarm in Kentish Town late one night that needed collection. I kept my fingers crossed that they would stay put over night and went down there at the crack of dawn to see if I could retrieve them.

They were still there – tightly clustered about 8 feet up in a tree.

After a bit of ladder climbing and tree shaking most of them were happily getting into the nuc. Later, after dark I went back to pick up the nuc. There weren’t any bees about then, but when I put my ear to the box I could hear a reassuring buzz.

Since then the colony has built up steadily, and has recently given us our first capped honey of the season.