Bee-success!

Being first time beekeepers on our local Bee Club's "swarm list", N and I have been a little tetchy lately. The phone rings and we'll suddenly tense, wishing, hoping, praying that it is someone calling to tell us that an unwanted swarm awaits capture. Ready to drop everything, put on our bee-suits and go catch a swarm of homeless bees to occupy our brand new sparkling hive. As the season dragged on with no swarms on offer we'd been harbouring the dark thought that maybe we'd just have to wait until next year to get our bees. Bees swarm from spring through to early summer but this year, after a hot and dry January, the bees have not been forthcoming. And you can only get bees during swarming season: it was going to be a long wait if we missed out!
But then on Saturday, at around noon, we got our call. We were told there was not one but three swarms at a property not far from our place at the home of an experienced beekeeper. Things were dropped, bee suits donned and we high-tailed it down to the swarms!
According to our bee guru Howard, captured swarms will "take" to a hive (ie. set up shop) around 70% of the time, and we were lucky enough to be in that percentile. It is a truly incredible thing to watch bees take to a hive - once they've made up their mind they literally march right in. And its not as scary as you might think - bees who have swarmed have filled their bellies with honey before swarming so they're in a total post-lunch stupor and its pretty unlikely they'll try to sting you.
 A week of perfect weather later and our bees are still happy and still home. Hurrah!