Bees for Alameda Gardens!

The Helping Hand Trust donated a bee colony to the Alameda Botanical GardensThe Garden contacted us a few months previous, wishing to have a hive of Gibraltar’s native bee population to help pollinate their plants and to be used as an educational tool.

The hive was provided by the Alameda Garden and the next wild swarm we were called out to collect was put into their hive. After a few months of monitoring to ensure the colony was viable the Helping Hand team waited until the evenings were dark enough to move the hive to its new home.

Moving the hive to its new location provided a few problems. Due to the hive’s structure we were compelled to secure the hive with a mechanical strap, such as one that holds down fragile loads on transport vehicles. The hive has an unusual design and our team was worried that it might come apart during transport.
Care had to be taken so that the bees’ journey was as smooth and quick as possible. Being bumped about can damage the bees’ structure inside the hive and can also lead to the bees abandoning the hive if they feel it is no longer safe.

Time was also an issue. We had to wait until it was dark enough for all the bees to have gone back into the hive for the night but not so dark that we wouldn’t be able see where we were going when delivering the bees.

Fortune was on our side and relocation was carried out without mishap. Wednesday morning the bees were happily going about their usual buziness!