For (easy to get too) swarms I have good luck with printing paper boxes. Otherwise I enjoy my bee vac. What are your favorite go to methods?
My "swarm tree" is thankfully very small, so I usually just shake them into a plastic bin and then dump them into a hive from there.
If catching one of my own swarms, I set up a hive with 9 frames of foundation and a frame of uncapped brood (pinched from another hive) almost directly under the swarm. I shake or brush the swarm so that it falls onto the ground near the entrance to the hive. The branch or area where the hive was clustered is then sprayed with a water/ vinegar mix to mask the smell of the queens pheromones. The bees usually march into the hive to cover and manage the uncapped brood. I walk away and usually give a quick check after 10 minutes or so. If the bees cluster in big numbers close to the original location it means that the queen was not captured and the process may need to be repeated. The box is picked up after dark and is moved to its new location. All bees are caught using this method and it requires minimal work. A swarm will not leave a hive that has uncapped brood but I have lost a few swarms where only foundation was used in the hive.
Cheers
Les
X 2 Les...I use the same method. Works well for me.
Quote from: Lesgold on March 09, 2022, 03:56:04 PM
The branch or area where the hive was clustered is then sprayed with a water/ vinegar mix to mask the smell of the queens pheromones.
Hey, that's a great idea! I'm going to try that next time I have a swarm. I always have trouble with bees returning to the spot where they were clustered on the branch.
If the swarm is less than 10 ft high and I can get a hive box below them, then I will just shake them. If higher than that, I have a bucket on a painter's pole that can get at least 25 ft. Higher than that, they are on their own.
Thanks lesgold. I saved this info in a memo.
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Just curious, if the situation and time allows, do y'all check the swarms for multiple queens?
Phillip
Quote from: The15thMember on March 09, 2022, 07:11:26 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on March 09, 2022, 03:56:04 PM
The branch or area where the hive was clustered is then sprayed with a water/ vinegar mix to mask the smell of the queens pheromones.
Hey, that's a great idea! I'm going to try that next time I have a swarm. I always have trouble with bees returning to the spot where they were clustered on the branch.
I forgot what university it was, but they will leave the pheromones or add pheromones on low, easy access branches in yards they fall behind in swarm management. Better to have pheromones on low branches than branches 30 feet overhead. Or hang a Russian scion in your yard.
Quote from: beesnweeds on March 10, 2022, 09:39:30 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 09, 2022, 07:11:26 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on March 09, 2022, 03:56:04 PM
The branch or area where the hive was clustered is then sprayed with a water/ vinegar mix to mask the smell of the queens pheromones.
Hey, that's a great idea! I'm going to try that next time I have a swarm. I always have trouble with bees returning to the spot where they were clustered on the branch.
I forgot what university it was, but they will leave the pheromones or add pheromones on low, easy access branches in yards they fall behind in swarm management. Better to have pheromones on low branches than branches 30 feet overhead. Or hang a Russian scion in your yard.
"Coolbees" told us a few years ago, something similar for that reason which was relayed to him by an older beekeeper when speaking of 'cutting the limb off' with the bees attached.. "Don't cut off the limb the bees have swarmed too." I believe is what he said for the purpose of leaving the pheromones in place.. This is where a 'good quality' bee vac may be a GREAT asset at times...
Phillip
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 10, 2022, 10:06:11 AM
Quote from: beesnweeds on March 10, 2022, 09:39:30 AM
Quote from: The15thMember on March 09, 2022, 07:11:26 PM
Quote from: Lesgold on March 09, 2022, 03:56:04 PM
The branch or area where the hive was clustered is then sprayed with a water/ vinegar mix to mask the smell of the queens pheromones.
Hey, that's a great idea! I'm going to try that next time I have a swarm. I always have trouble with bees returning to the spot where they were clustered on the branch.
I forgot what university it was, but they will leave the pheromones or add pheromones on low, easy access branches in yards they fall behind in swarm management. Better to have pheromones on low branches than branches 30 feet overhead. Or hang a Russian scion in your yard.
"Coolbees" told us a few years ago, something similar for that reason which was relayed to him by an older beekeeper when speaking of 'cutting the limb off' with the bees attached.. "Don't cut off the limb the bees have swarmed too." I believe is what he said for the purpose of leaving the pheromones in place.. This is where a 'good quality' bee vac may be a GREAT asset at times...
Phillip
Hm, it's true, I guess dissolving the pheromones could be a short term gain, but a long term risk, as my swarms land in the same mercifully tiny tree every time, without fail.
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 10, 2022, 04:33:32 AM
Just curious, if the situation and time allows, do y'all check the swarms for multiple queens?
Phillip
If I get behind in managing hives and one swarms on me, I always knock down all but one or two queen cells or add a queen from a mating nuc so I dont get secondary swarms with multiple virgin queens. If I get one on a swarm call, I dont bother checking as long as there is a laying queen in a week or two.
Thanks beesnweeds, I am not talking about secondary swarms. I am speaking of checking for multiple queens within a single swarm. I think this might be a part of beekeeping that is sometimes overlooked, or might be unknown by many? We have discussed it here last year on the Topic: Dissecting (a) Swarm
Phillip
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 10, 2022, 12:25:30 PM
Thanks beesnweeds, I am not talking about secondary swarms. I am speaking of checking for multiple queens within a single swarm. I think this might be a part of beekeeping that is sometimes overlooked, or might be unknown by many? We have discussed it here last year on the Topic: Dissecting (a) Swarm
Phillip
There's always a single marked queen within the single swarms in my apiary. :grin:
Yes I have found the marked queen along with 4 new queens in a single swarm. Schawee another member here, posted a video finding 6 queens in a single swarm. David in Georgia found 9. I am renewing the topic: Dissecting (a) Swarm for those who might be interested.
Phillip
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 10, 2022, 04:33:32 AM
Just curious, if the situation and time allows, do y'all check the swarms for multiple queens?
Phillip
I started looking for multiple queens in swarms a few years ago when I had difficulty in hiving some swarms and found several queens. I think the most queens that I found in a swarm was 4 or 5. With multiple queens, the bees don't just march into the box. I think they are confused by the different pheromones produced by the queens. If they march right into the box then it is not a big priority to search for queen(s).
Thanks Cao..
Just in case you would like to see the unofficial largest. Honey Bee swarm in the world.... 22 DEEP boxes in one shake..
https://youtu.be/CpXTK0E7Gco
BEE HAPPY Jim 134 :smile:
Quote from: Ben Framed on March 10, 2022, 10:06:11 AM
"Coolbees" told us a few years ago, something similar for that reason which was relayed to him by an older beekeeper when speaking of 'cutting the limb off' with the bees attached.. "Don't cut off the limb the bees have swarmed too." I believe is what he said for the purpose of leaving the pheromones in place.. This is where a 'good quality' bee vac may be a GREAT asset at times...
Phillip
Agreed, in addition to pheromones visual things such as cankers (or anything that mimics a small swam cluster forming) can be involved. Have a small diseased cherry tree just outside my bee yard. Full of little black cankers that resemble a tiny swarm forming. Caught one swarm in 2020, two in 2021 in the same tree. Different limbs each time, all easily reachable :grin: Kind of a natural scion (Not going to use the "R" word...) If you can reach it do not cut it!
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This is the bomb. It can stay in the back of my car. ASAP to swarm calls!
It's big enough to catch the cluster, with a better chance of including the queen than a 5 gal. bucket.
I drilled a cork sized hole in the center of the top. Once the Q is inside, the rest smell her and jump in the hole. When they're in, cork the top and put it in the car. Bring to the appropriate bee yard. The inside is really smooth, so they are easy to pour out.
Brown paper yard bags. Easy to close up and pour out of into a new box once relocated.