Perfect planning.
Except it wasn’t planned.
On the last day of a two-day advanced workshop on "The Technique of Instrumental Insemination,” taught by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. UC Davis, bees from one of the hives began to swarm.
It was perfect for one of Cobey's students, Ventura resident Bill Weinerth,
The bees headed for a nearby tree. Cobey, manager of the Laidlaw facility, smoked them to calm them down before shaking the bees loose and into their new home: an awaiting hive.
Weinerth loves working with bees. “I’ve had bees all my life except for 10 years when I was going to school (master’s of divinity),” he said.
“When I was 12, and living in
It's been a bee-loved passion every since.
Attached Images:
![VETERAN VENTURA beekeeper Bill Weinerth films the bee swarm Thursday, April 23 at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. He was at the UC Davis facility for an advanced bee insemination course taught by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) VETERAN VENTURA beekeeper Bill Weinerth films the bee swarm Thursday, April 23 at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility. He was at the UC Davis facility for an advanced bee insemination course taught by bee breeder-geneticist Susan Cobey. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1626.jpg)
Filming the swarm
![BEES SWARM into a tree at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, as veteran beekeeper Bill Weinerth of Ventura video-tapes the action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) BEES SWARM into a tree at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis, as veteran beekeeper Bill Weinerth of Ventura video-tapes the action. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1627.jpg)
Swarming in a Tree
![CLOSE-UP of bee swarm in a tree at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) CLOSE-UP of bee swarm in a tree at the Harry H. Laidlaw Jr. Honey Bee Research Facility, UC Davis. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1628.jpg)
Close-up of bee swarm
![BEE BREEDER-GENETICIST Susan Cobey calms the swarm by smoking it as beekeeper Bill Weinerth films the activity. Cobey shook the bees loose from the limb and moved them into a new hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey) BEE BREEDER-GENETICIST Susan Cobey calms the swarm by smoking it as beekeeper Bill Weinerth films the activity. Cobey shook the bees loose from the limb and moved them into a new hive. (Photo by Kathy Keatley Garvey)](https://ucanr.edu/blogs/bugsquad/blogfiles/1629.jpg)
Smoking the Bees