September 7, 2020 – Town of West Bend, WI – An exciting weekend for a Town of West Bend couple who had a swarm of bees land in their yard. The bees honed in Saturday afternoon on a tree in the couples backyard off 18th Avenue. By Sunday neighbor Chris Cybell, Beans Bee’s & Honey Farm, had arrived to safely harvest the bees.
“I’m going to put a sheet under the tree and then hold a box underneath and I’ll shake the branch and they’ll drop into the box,” he said.
“The bees smell the queen and they’re surrounding her for safety and to keep her warm,” Cybell said.
Using a soft yellow brush Cybell gently poured the bees into a small, portable apiary. His goal was to successfully transplant the queen bee. If that could be accomplished the rest of the bees would follow.
Cybell estimated there were about 35,000 bees.
He said the swarm probably came from within a mile to half mile of the home. He said they could have come from a hive that separated.
Right now the bees are busy collecting pollen from golden rod so they can overwinter fat and happy.
An estimated value of the bees could be around $200.
