Bob Kelly and new member Steve Simoni brought five logs with bees in them to Gary Lawrence's back yard on April 18 in the evening. They were from different limbs of an old oak tree that had to be removed. Most of the logs were open at both ends, and had been screened over and transported with bees intact. Possibly there are several queens.

Gary consulted with Steve Gentry and Mike Stephanos, and developed a plan. Steve and Bob sealed one end with plywood and upended the log so that the top was level.

Then they leveled the log at the top and placed another piece of plywood with a hole in the center on top of the log.

They put a super with a frame of brood and nine other frames inside it, so that bees could escape upwards through the hive only. The top board has a shim so the bees can escape to forage. Gary and Bob are working on the second log. The aim is to have the bees move upward and build comb in the hives, and if a queen is present there will be brood in the supers and they can be relocated. Bob coated the base with used motor oil so that ants will not invade the hives.

This is the innovative way that Bob Kelly dealt with the horizontal oak branch. 4 metal legs in cans of oil to keep ants out. Some of the hive boxes have brood in them, so we know queens have moved up into them.