Just caught my 1st swarm!

rober · April 10, 2012, 07:06:45 PM

brought the swarm home & put them in a hive with 4 frames of drawn out comb. they were pretty much piled up on the bottom board so i'm letting them settle in. i''l add more frames as they spread out so i do not crush them. some of the frames are full of honey. is there anything else that i need to do? do they need to be fed? should i leave them with 1 hive body for now or add another box? there are a lot of bees so they should not have any problem defending a 2nd box. hopefully i got the queen.

iddee · April 10, 2012, 07:21:51 PM

Add all the frames now, or they will draw wild comb from the lid and you will have to cut it out. NEVER put bees in less than a full box of frames.

rober · April 10, 2012, 07:47:58 PM

in hindsight i should have put an empty box on top of a full box of frames.

rober · April 10, 2012, 08:02:33 PM

the frames are in........anything else that i need to do?

asprince · April 10, 2012, 08:56:21 PM

Do not place an empty box on top. They WILL create a mess! With honey they will not need to be fed. A frame of brood with eggs from another hive would be wonderful.

Good Luck, Steve

rober · April 10, 2012, 09:07:21 PM

the empty 2nd box reference was an afterthought for putting the swarm in the hive. set up a hive body on the bottom board with frames, put a 2nd box on that, dump the bees in, come back in an hour & remove the 2nd box after the bees have moved onto the frames. i think that would be safer for the bees.

texjim · April 10, 2012, 09:11:59 PM

good luck with your swarm...keep us posted.

iddee · April 10, 2012, 11:45:06 PM

No empty box needed.

vmmartin · April 11, 2012, 12:36:36 AM

Congrats on your first swarm. I agree with asprince on the frame of brood. A swarm, most of the time, is primed and ready to build comb. Their very survival depends on it. I like to put mine on foundation and marvel at how fast they draw it out. But that might just be me. Best wishes.

rober · April 11, 2012, 01:29:26 PM

i just went out to add a frame of brood to the swarm & the bees are mostly gone. there might be 2 cups of bees there, a few drones, & no queen. either i missed the queen or she did not like her new home. i think adding brood at this point would be a waste of brood.

asprince · April 11, 2012, 02:08:29 PM

Sorry. A frame of brood when you hived them would have insured their acceptance of their new home. Look around they may be hanging near by.

Good Luck,

Steve

jmblakeney · April 11, 2012, 03:41:06 PM

I always look for the queen when catching the swarm and put here in a queen clip. When i get them home i put a queen includer over the bottom board and release the queen. In a day or two i check for eggs and if they are seen i remove the includer.

Thats just how i do it. Hope it may help you sometime.
James

2Sox · April 11, 2012, 04:06:03 PM

Congrats on your first! Sorry it got away.

When I go to collect a swarm, I always dab the inside of the box with lemongrass oil. It never fails for me and I haven't lost a swarm yet. But that idea about a queen includer is a very good one and I've been thinking of doing this for a long time for a little extra insurance. I don't want to tempt fate and that's why gonna be using one on all my future swarm calls.

rober · April 11, 2012, 05:05:41 PM

live & learn eh? it was still an awesome experience. i'll know better next time. what will happen to the few remaining bees?

asprince · April 11, 2012, 08:25:38 PM

If you have other hives, shake them out and remove the box. They will join another hive. If not , they will die.

Steve