Thank you for your interest!

The colony had been in that location for about six weeks and had established about 10-12 combs.

We cut out each comb and placed them on unwaxed Langstroth frames (with wire running through it for support) after brushing as many bees as possible of the comb.

PICTURE.

We cut the comb to the size of the frames trying to keep as much of the brood as possible. Unfortunately a few of the combs were very large so we had to cut through a small portion of the brood. Bummer. But the colony was very strong and should handle the disturbance well. Each comb was then secured with rubber bands around the comb and frame to hold it in place until the bees secure the comb to the top of the frame (that is one of the first things they will do). If there are gaps in frames it is good to fit in smaller pieces of comb and fill the frame so the bees can maintain their honey stores.

Each frame (now with comb) is placed into an empty "super" or hive box. We looked for the Queen until we found her and made sure she was in the hive box. There is just one queen, and when she is in the hive box, the rest of the bees will know and they will fan her pheromones out to attract the other bees to join. We placed the hive box as close to the cutout as possible so all the bees could come to the new hive. We will leave it just like it is shown in the picture for about a week to give them time for repairs and to get used to the hive box.

After a week, we will relocate the hive to a better location where they will not be disturbed and will not disturb humans.

Overall, the cutout took about an hour. Please let me know if you have any more questions. Mahalo!