I added another medium super on one of my hives today, and they swarmed 40 feet up a tree less than an hour later. Silly bees! We had to let them go. Ten feet is about our limit.
I`ve gone 16 feet on a gardener`s three legged ladder, but 40 feet might get you killed. Old frames in that super, maybe carrying an odor? I once did that myself, so learned to sniff frames from storage before use. Just a guess....
I would say late getting the super on.
You could have given them 20 frames with the sweetest honey and you would not stop that hive from swarming an hour later. They already had their preparations completed and were waiting for the right conditions to leave. You would have to have added the super about 5 or more days before the swarm to stop them. If you saw the swarm cells, you could have done a split and moved the queen to stop it, maybe.
Jim
Quote from: beecanbee on May 23, 2017, 04:09:38 AM
I`ve gone 16 feet on a gardener`s three legged ladder, but 40 feet might get you killed. Old frames in that super, maybe carrying an odor? I once did that myself, so learned to sniff frames from storage before use. Just a guess....
If they are only 16' up in a tree, get a 5 gallon bucket, tape it to a 8' pole and bump the branch they are on with the bucket under the swarm. Then pour the bees into a waiting hive or nuc depending on the size of the swarm. Works great.
Jim
You can put a dozen supers on at anytime. It won't slow down swarming if you don't give her more laying room in the brood nest.
Ah, yes... a swarm, not an abscond.... :embarassed:
Quote from: iddee on May 23, 2017, 01:11:08 PM
You can put a dozen supers on at anytime. It won't slow down swarming if you don't give her more laying room in the brood nest.
That is interesting. How do beekeepers get away with one deep brood box and a QE above that? I don't use a QE so I wouldn't see the problem but there are a lot of people that do.
Quote from: beecanbee on May 23, 2017, 04:09:38 AM
I`ve gone 16 feet on a gardener`s three legged ladder, but 40 feet might get you killed. Old frames in that super, maybe carrying an odor? I once did that myself, so learned to sniff frames from storage before use. Just a guess....
hm, good thought, but they had been sitting in the sun for days, and I had just taken the foundation out cuz we're going foundationless.... Good thought tho
Quote from: beecanbee on May 23, 2017, 03:59:31 PM
Ah, yes... a swarm, not an abscond.... :embarassed:
yes... thankfully!
Quote from: erbs honey on May 23, 2017, 12:58:18 AM
I added another medium super on one of my hives today, and they swarmed 40 feet up a tree less than an hour later. Silly bees! We had to let them go. Ten feet is about our limit.
If it should happen again - try and get a line over a branch as near to the swarm as possible. Maybe use a kiddies bow and arrow (?) - with some fishing line attached to the arrow. Use that line to pull over something a little heavier - clothes-line type rope - and then use that to pull a drawn frame (with open brood if possible) up to the swarm. If you attach the other end of the rope to the frame, then you can assist gravity by pulling it downwards, as often rope tends to 'grip' against the tree bark.
LJ
Well, one of our other hives swarmed today, and made up for the 40 foot swarm. They landed at about 5 1/2 feet. Easy pickins' my husband called it. We were out in our compound building a fence for the garden (a fence within a fence) and watched to see where they would land. They landed in our smallest apple tree and we landed another hive!
:smile:
Quote from: erbs honey on May 27, 2017, 01:07:35 AM
Well, one of our other hives swarmed today, and made up for the 40 foot swarm. They landed at about 5 1/2 feet.
Are you looking for more hives and no honey? I am wondering why you are not splitting.
Quote from: Acebird on May 23, 2017, 08:54:32 AM
I would say late getting the super on.
Ya think??? :)
:grin:
Quote from: Acebird on May 27, 2017, 08:33:46 AM
Quote from: erbs honey on May 27, 2017, 01:07:35 AM
Well, one of our other hives swarmed today, and made up for the 40 foot swarm. They landed at about 5 1/2 feet.
Are you looking for more hives and no honey? I am wondering why you are not splitting.
Well, largely because I work full time a 45 minute drive from where we live and I usually have only the weekends and occasional vacations for going inside our hives. My husband is allergic, so I try do the more involved beekeeping, and, not trying to be any certain way, beekeeping in just more my "thing" than his. He helps me catch swarms and helps in many other ways. I am planning to take several extra days off during swarm season and the summer, though. I've done two splits so far this year.
I got busy this year and got behind on my bees too. Had to spend more time catching swarms than doing splits(17 swarms caught). Sometimes stuff happens. :wink:
Quote from: cao on May 31, 2017, 04:36:54 PM
I got busy this year and got behind on my bees too. Had to spend more time catching swarms than doing splits(17 swarms caught). Sometimes stuff happens. :wink:
Wow! 17! Impressive!
Quote from: Acebird on May 27, 2017, 08:33:46 AM
Quote from: erbs honey on May 27, 2017, 01:07:35 AM
Well, one of our other hives swarmed today, and made up for the 40 foot swarm. They landed at about 5 1/2 feet.
Are you looking for more hives and no honey?
Actually, we only harvest honey about once every 3 years. We don't sell it and it lasts me that long. We keep bees for our garden and our neighbors' gardens, and for our orchard. And then there's the fact that bees are absolutely amazing creatures. And we got them into the mess that they're in, we can do our best to help them out! Keeping bees is a meditation. Shall I go on?? :embarassed: