Flowerpot Bees

We suspect that these bees moved in to this location on a cooler day. And if the pot plant had been in the shade it would have been in an ideal location. Unfortunately the Australian summer is unforgiving and on a 40 plus degree day this flowerpot became a sauna.

When we arrived there were still some bees alive however they appeared lost and confused. We knew if we collected them quickly then we could save this hive.

A bee vacuum is used to quickly gather bees. Vacuums are a last resort on hives where you need to relocate the bees quickly. In this instance the vacuum was used to ensure we could get the bees out of the hot environment fast, then look for evidence of the queen's survival.

We designed our bee vac so we could see inside the vacuum box to check that the bees are ok and to observe their behaviour. Bees will act differently depending on whether the queen is present or absent. Thankfully, we noted the queen was there and the bees were starting to mass around her. This hive has thrived in its new home and is now stable and highly populated due to its productive queen.