Meet Josh: The Beekeeper Who's Sharing the Honeybee Love

The other day, I had the pleasure of meeting a new friend, Josh. He is a local who keeps bees and was kind enough to drop off a swarm box for me to catch some honeybees. When he arrived, he introduced himself and handed me the box, which contained a few dirty frames and some empty ones that the bees could make a home in. Josh advised me not to fill the box up with too many frames because the bees need enough room to move around and make sure they like the location before moving in.

To set up the box, Josh suggested I place it in a location with plenty of flowers or blooming plants, which would attract the bees. He mentioned a few locations, such as the bottle brush and lavender growing in my garden, which would be ideal spots for the swarm box. Josh also gave me a swarm commander, a bee-attracting mixture containing lemongrass essential oil.

We walked around my garden and checked out the different areas, looking for the perfect spot to place the swarm box. After a few minutes, we found a location with bees flying around and flowers nearby, which Josh thought was an ideal location. He suggested that I leave the box there for a few weeks and wait for a swarm to move in.

It was fascinating to learn about the process of catching a swarm of bees, and I'm excited to see if any bees will move into the box. Thanks to Josh's generosity and expertise, I have a chance to observe and care for these incredible creatures up close. I'm looking forward to learning more about beekeeping and becoming a better steward of our environment.

Below is a direct link to what I use for beekeeping!