Cool video shows woman move an entire colony of bees from an old suitcase to their new home
They were packed up and ready to go.
Bees can make a home practically anywhere, but their location choice isn’t always ideal, both for them and the humans they cohabitate with. Luckily, bee whisperers like Erika Thompson of Texas Beeworks specialize in moving colonies from their unusual makeshift living areas to places much more hospitable.
Thompson has helped relocate countless hives–found everywhere from backyard playgrounds to sheds to compost bins—all while documenting how it’s done. Plus she narrates the process with a voice so soft and soothing it doubles as an ASMR video. But really, it's her signature flair of doing it all with her bare hands that always leaves people completely floored.
Thompson recently rescued a beehive from a particularly unusual spot—a discarded suitcase.
In a clip shared to her Youtube channel, Thompson carefully opened the lid to reveal thousands of insects collected together. After noting that the hive didn’t have any food or signs of new baby bees being generated, she decided to rehome them.
From driving the suitcase of bees in her truck to coaxing them out into their new home with smoke, Thompson makes it all look so easy. She was even able to spot the hive queen, which is basically like trying to find a needle in a haystack.
Watch below. Especially for the part where Thompson ever so gently narrates the hive murdering a wasp.
Funny enough, this isn’t even the weirdest item Thompson has delivered bees from. Previous spots include a washing machine, an old chair and even the tank of a thrown-away toilet. But no matter the locale, she’s determined to help the buzz fam thrive.
While honey bee populations continue to be reported as increasing, thousands of other native bee species still face threats of extinction. These bees help pollinate many crops and plants that honey bees do not, especially species that use buzz pollination—a trick involving vibrating to shake off stubborn pollen which honey bees do not possess.
Besides habitat loss, pesticides are the largest threat to our world's most important pollinators. That's why, in addition to rehoming, Thompson also advocates for eliminating the use of pesticides in order to help all kinds of bee populations start buzzing around again.
You can follow along on even more of her bee rescues on Youtube and Instagram.
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