Capilano Suspension Cut Out

We were asked to do a bee colony removal at Capilano Suspension Bridge from the top of a tower that was to be demolished. They were a well-established colony, and the interesting part was their entrance was about 40 feet up. This made it a challenge to get all the gear we might need up on the small space of a lift - oh, and the beekeepers too! The tower cavity mimics a natural tree hollow, and how the bees would build their beeswax comb. The bees were quite docile, kind of unexpected, as we were disassembling their home. Our goal was to cut the comb out and piece it back together in frames, holding it in with elastics. Making it as similar as we can to a managed colony; brood comb (baby bees) together, pollen next and then lots of honey comb. We gathered as many bees as we could until it got too sticky and slippery. We then transported them to another apiary (bee yard), where we placed them the colony on top of another strong hive to allow the heat to rise through.