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How to handle a bee swarm #6541930
05/22/19 05:43 AM
05/22/19 05:43 AM
Joined: Dec 2015
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080808 Offline OP
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080808  Offline OP
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I only have 1 hive and we are about to get warm weather. What is the best method to catch a swarm? Can that swarm be placed next to the existing hive? Second hive has both large and small frames. Choice? Should some of those frames be removed to place new swarm in? Thanks in advance.

Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6541961
05/22/19 07:23 AM
05/22/19 07:23 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,139
B61-12 vicinity, MO
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TreedaBlackdog Offline
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TreedaBlackdog  Offline
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B61-12 vicinity, MO
You could just make your own split if you have a healthy hive. Take a deep frame out with brood less than 3 days old - be sure queen is not on that frame. Place in your other deep box away from your parent hive. Pull a few more support frames of pollen/nectar and nurse bees and place them next to the frame with young eggs/brood. Again make sure you don't transfer the queen. Check your hive you created in 3-4 days. The bees should have pulled out a queen cell from the brood under 3 days old and are making a new replacement queen. Capped queen cell should occur a few more days. Virgin queen should emerge in a few more days - scamper around and take mating flights. 27-30 days after you split you should see new eggs in your hive you made with your newly laying queen. If at 32-33 days you see no new eggs - you will need to combine back to parent hive.

If you have queen cells in your existing hive - pull that frame minus the queen again and you just speed up the process.

Or, yes you can catch swarms - just place your bait hive out and there is a slight chance a hive will come in - lemongrass oil is a good attractant and old brood comb.

Last edited by TreedaBlackdog; 05/22/19 07:24 AM.
Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6541972
05/22/19 07:45 AM
05/22/19 07:45 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,432
Georgia
warrior Offline
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warrior  Offline
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Posts: 25,432
Georgia
By catch a swarm I assume you mean swarm trapping. If so check out the book Honeybee Democracy by Dr Tom Seeley of Cornell. He also has a dozen or so videos up on youtube. He has researched feral bees and reported his findings on what bees seem to naturally prefer when looking for a suitable cavity.
I've done some limited swarm trapping with equally limted success.


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Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6541975
05/22/19 07:48 AM
05/22/19 07:48 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,139
B61-12 vicinity, MO
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TreedaBlackdog Offline
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TreedaBlackdog  Offline
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I should add - to answer your How to handle a swarm - you can brush a swarm into any old container and then shake them onto your new empty hive. Generally folks use the deep size boxes for starting a hive. Make sure if you transport a hive in a box they have ventilation as you can suffocate or overheat a caught swarm. To keep the swarm in a newly placed hive - I always pull a frame of brood from another hive and place it in the newly caught swarm hive. Make sure all the other bees are off the brood frame or they will fight the swarm bees and get killed. This single frame of brood will give the newly caught swarm something to take care of and they will raise off those brood. The caught queen should start laying a few days. If you don't get the queen - the swarm is likely to take off again.

Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6541980
05/22/19 07:50 AM
05/22/19 07:50 AM
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B61-12 vicinity, MO
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TreedaBlackdog Offline
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TreedaBlackdog  Offline
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B61-12 vicinity, MO
Warrior -

Headed in two hours to pick up my 25 MN Hygienic queens - feel like a kid before Christmas.....day of making splits coming for me.

Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6542000
05/22/19 08:35 AM
05/22/19 08:35 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 25,432
Georgia
warrior Offline
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warrior  Offline
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Georgia
I need to slow down and split mine. Been a good spring and they're booming. One decided to split themselves for me yesterday. Had to pull the 36 foot ladder off the truck.
That makes eight caught so far.


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Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6542024
05/22/19 09:27 AM
05/22/19 09:27 AM
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,139
B61-12 vicinity, MO
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TreedaBlackdog Offline
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TreedaBlackdog  Offline
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B61-12 vicinity, MO
I utilize a long cord and pull a frame up in them and lower them down. I hate heights. Generally I can pull 5-6 frames covered in bees and shake them back in box with a frame of brood and they stay. Then I utilize the same cord I have been pulling/lowering the frame with and shake the snot out of the branch and disturb whats left. I set my box up on a step ladder and most find their way back to the box. My way does take a while but I don't even own a 20' ladder. I have yet to see a swarm......been colder and wet this year around me. Ihave broken apart the hives with cells and am letting them raise their own.

Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6542106
05/22/19 11:56 AM
05/22/19 11:56 AM
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080808 Offline OP
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I should have said a swarm from my existing hive. Last yr I went to work in the morning. When I came home there was a swarm in a locust tree about 100 ft from the hive. I got a ladder from the barn and they were gone. Obviously new to this.

Re: How to handle a bee swarm [Re: 080808] #6542135
05/22/19 01:22 PM
05/22/19 01:22 PM
Joined: Jan 2008
Posts: 4,791
M.T.V. Alaska
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yukonjeff Offline
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For swarm prevention. Add another box before they are too crowded. Move up a brood frame or two up into the second deep,Then put in drawn comb in their place below for space for her to lay, and that works for me most times.

And move your mediums frames to the edges of the brood nest,and switch them out with deep frames when there is no brood in them. Its better to have all one size frame in case you need to add a frame of honey or brood to another hive.

Good luck

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