I've had a very interesting conversation with my daughter today.
She told me earlier this afternoon that she had discovered a hornet's nest in a tree in her front yard. She was really surprised because she hadn't noticed it before, but there were so many hornets that when the sun hit it it just turned golden! I told her to hold on a minute before she called the exterminators and to contact the Farmers Coop instead. I thought she must have a swarm of honeybees.
Sure enough, they gave her the name and number of a beekeeper and she called him. He came over right away, sprayed them with a few squirts of water (to make them "tighten up" around the queen) and knocked most of them into a cardboard box. He poked a hole in the side of the box and left it under the tree so the rest of the bees would enter and he'll be back after dinner to collect them. She says they are just buzzing around and lining up to go in the opening like jetliners at a busy airport.
He told my daughter that they seemed to be a docile group of bees and he's happy to get them and see if they will form a colony. He also told her that the honeybees have had a tough few years, but they seem to be bouncing back a bit after the hive collapse problems they've had recently. He has promised to keep her informed of their progress. I told her she should drop a hint for a jar of fresh wildflower honey later this summer.
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She should receive more than just ONE jar of honey! I'd say she deserves several jars per year, ad infinitum!
I would love to see that - the bees lined up to go into the box. 
Sadly, there was another story today about Monsanto purchasing a company that does major research on bee colony collapse.
http://www.nationofchange.org/blamed-bee-collapse-monsanto-buys-leading-bee-research-firm-1334850010
I'm reading this while making peanut butter honey sammiches for my kids! Nice to hear the bees are bouncing back.
