Thank for the video Quest as I didn't know that outside bees rob other bee hives - interesting behaviour
Thank for the video Quest as I didn't know that outside bees rob other bee hives - interesting behaviour
Quest (10-26-2017)
The robbing has finally stopped and my hives have calmed down...I did end up putting my hives in total lockdown for 36 hours. Robbers also bring a lot of mites to the hive so I am treating them today for mites and giving them antibiotics...
Due to manager error my 2 hives are a cycle behind...requeened and not a lot of bees..new bees won't emerge for 21 days from laying...population may diminish too much to feed and nurture the brood....so I needed a resource...did not want to buy another batch of bees..$150.00. An opportunity to catch a swarm came available. Here is a picture of the swarm and one after putting them in their new home...I will inspect in a few days giving them time to settle in and I will be checking for the queen. My tentative plan is to take some of the swarm bees and merge them with each weak hive and keep some with the swarm queen for form a nuc.
A.J. (04-12-2018)
We had a swarm of honey bees make themselves at home in a camper we used to have. We called a local bee guy to come and get them, which he did... not entirely sure how he enticed them out of the camper, but they were gone. He gave us a jar of honey as payment! lol
Interesting stuff, Quest, thanks for sharing!
Quest (04-12-2018)
From time to time other bee keepers or people in a community will reach out because they have a swarm on their property. If the beekeeper they reached out to can't get it or does not want it, they will post on one of several Facebook groups.
I joined several Facebook bee groups ...monitored them close for announcements of a swarm opportunity...I missed several cause someone claims them like in minutes! This one popped up and I didn't take any time to check the location and ponder....I said, I'll take it...called the number and set an appointment.
This one was not close to me but I either had to get a swarm or buy some replacement bees..$150.00.
I got up at 4 AM and drove 4 hours to south Alabama...the person who called was not sure how long they had been there so I did not want to take a chance on them leaving for their new home in mid afternoon.
About 8:30 AM I arrived...laid a sheet under the shrub and placed the box on it...I grabbed, gently, several hand full and shook them in the box. Then bent the branch down and tapped the rest in..... Quite a few kept returning to the branch so I did this for about an hour giving them time to realize the queen was in the box...a lot on the ground will just walk into the box because she is there...
After I had the bulk of them and the queen I closed and tapped up the box...they had air holes but no exit options....put them in the back seat and drove another 4 hours home...I kept air on in the car to keep them from overheating in the sealed box...
Some beekeepers said use lemon grass and sugar water to make them more docile. The lemon grass disrupts their pheromone communications but I think this did more harm than good...a number of foragers kept going back to the branch...I had to leave about 500 bees behind because of time...had i had all day I could leave the box and they would have eventually found their way in....but I am pretty sure there is a beekeeper in that area cause swarms don't go far...they land and sent out scouts to find a new home...when they find one the whole swarm goes away....
There are situations where they will go into the box voluntarily....lured by lemon grass or artificial pheromones....but they almost have to be on the ground or where one can place the box right beside them on a branch and wait....but once the queen is safely in the box the rest will follow....see the little circle hole in front of the box in picture 2? They were climbing in that hole....
In hindsight because of their location I now know of an easier way...this clip is a fast version and would actually take only about an hour and less bee loss....I could have created the ramp with the sheet...shook all the bees onto the ramp...the queen then leads the rest into the baited box. This is used to split a hive that is about to swarm but the same concept can be used for catching one....And really catching swarms is a matter of experience...each one is different so one needs to have several options in ones' toolbox of tricks.
krystian (04-13-2018)