Bee swarms in late autumn are not unheard of on the Sunshine Coast. After all, our winters are pretty mild, and the paper-bark tea trees can provide a bountiful nectar flow in many areas. Often ample incoming resources can trigger swarming in bee colonies.

Winter, however, is not an ideal time to do beehive removals because cold weather can be detrimental to colony health, and chilled brood can quickly die. We, therefore, need to be careful to take all steps necessary to make sure the brood comb, once removed, is kept warm.

An essential action is to leave as many bees on the combs as possible because their job is to regulate the temperature and keep the brood warm. Because we want to keep as many bees with the brood comb as possible, we vacuum fewer bees when doing beehive removals in cool weather.

It is also useful to put all of the cut brood combs into a warm place as soon as it is cut; on this job, the comb was put straight into one of our polystyrene hives with the lids on to help contain the warmth. Once all of the beehive was removed from the ceiling space, we then got to work, attaching the brood combs into frames as quickly as possible.

To complete the job, we then reunite the vacuumed bees with the queen and the rest of the colony, while not exposing them to the cold evening air. Our bee-vacuum catch-box can attach directly to the hive body containing the queen and brood and a trap door, once removed, allows the vacuumed bees to move up and cover the brood combs without any bees escaping.

The following day, after we have relocated this colony to our quarantine apiary, this colony was provided with about five litres of sugar syrup to allow them the immediate resources to complete attaching the cut combs into the frames and also pack away some supplies for winter. Come spring, with any luck, they will become a good honey producing colony.