We came home from morning service I stopped the car to get our newspaper and thought I heard something. I turned the car off and there they were . About 70 feet up in an Ash tree. If they will come down I will give them a nice box to live in.
I can not recall seeing a swarm this late in the season.
An abscond or is it a swarm?
Van
If they are absconding, there is a good chance they may usurp one of your hives, especially this time of year.
Put some lemon grass oil on the entrance of one of your empty hive boxes.
Jim Altmiller
Jim, this time of year, with some but little nectar/pollen coming in, surely the swarm is absconding. Tenn is an adjacent state so I am figuring there dearth similar to that of N. Arkansas. Currently, Pollen and nectar kind of scarce although my bees are finding some.
Hive beetles are crazy high in numbers this year in Arkansas. At least at my place!! I?ll bet Tenn is in same boat causing absconds. I must have killed 200 beetles last week, just the past 7 days, with my hive tool, thumb, or freeze spray. Every inspection begins with beetle killing as I find the beetle jails and go to work.
Van
I agree with Van.
This is the worst year I have seen for hive beetles. It has been a wet year. They could be an abscound . There were 10 swarms here this spring I was unable to capture. Too high in the trees. There seems to be several groups of bees that live in the woods close by. I an unaware of any other beekeepers close by.
Thanks for the input Jim, I have put lemon grass oil in a spare hive. I also grow lemon grass in with our herbs. As of now they are still in the treetops.
Sputnik, in 2020, place a nuc up in a tree, safe distance, a few feet, with lemon grass oil and waxed out frames. You probably are aware so my input is for newbies. No offense to the experienced.
Van