2014 swarms

10framer · April 20, 2014, 09:40:24 PM

another one today.

hjon71 · April 20, 2014, 10:24:10 PM

Where is the greenface emoticon for Jealous???
I need it.

10framer · April 20, 2014, 10:27:03 PM

i think they're all afterswarms from hives i split to avoid swarms hjohn. it's actually messing me up. i had 2 or 3 generations worth of history memorized for all my queens. now i have wild cards.

Fox Creek · April 22, 2014, 05:04:07 PM

A couple of days ago I went to my bee yard and bees were flying everywhere. Then I saw two swarms moving off, higher over the trees and gone. I also noticed a small clump of bees on the ground next to another hive. Maybe a couple of hundred bees. I thought, OK I must have dropped some comb with honey on it and these bees were taking advantage. The next day, same thing only now the clump was double in size. Well today the clump was 2 feet by 2 feet and 5 inches thick! Dang! Is this a swarm? On the ground? Its been raining all night! Sure enough as I slowly sifted ( gloved fingers) through the bees, there she was. A marked queen from last years new hive! I placed the queen and a bunch of workers in a hive box. I set the box next to the swarm and now all are marching into their new home.

Is this rare for swarms to go to the ground like this?

GSF · April 22, 2014, 10:46:01 PM

The theory is that the queen isn't used to flying so when they swarm they may not go far before they land. Then she rests and off they go again. In this case she may have left the hive way too early and was too heavy to fly.

tireman · April 22, 2014, 11:47:13 PM

Got my first ever yesterday. There were about 100 bees clustered on the outside of a two story balcony. I brushed them into a box and saw bees through a 3/16 or less crack in the boards. I thought they had already moved in but when I got to the ground, I stumbled and hit the hedge bushes. Bees flew everywhere and I saw them re-cluster. I moved that cluster into the box on the second story and they immediately started fanning. I checked today and they have totally abandoned the house. I guess the queen couldn't fit through the crack so the homeowner and I both got lucky. Hooked for life!!

biggraham610 · April 23, 2014, 12:11:49 AM

Hey yall, Im new here. Cumberland Va. Caught my first swarm today. It was huge. In a cherry tree above my neighbors hives. I had an extra box so I was able to capture them. Im thinking he dosent want to grow over his 2 existing hives so tommorrow, I will find out, I will raise them and give him the surplus honey. Had to climb the ladder twice, first trip I must have left her up there. Second trip the bees were flocking to the box and lots of fanning going on. Will see tommorrow I suppose. Thanks G
Well, I tried to post some images of this giant swarm, but got red flagged, :? I will share them somewhere else. Great beekeeping to you all, thought I had found another forum to frequent

Updated by eivindm:

Fox Creek · April 23, 2014, 12:30:33 AM

Welcome biggraham!

eivindm · April 23, 2014, 03:49:23 AM

Quote from: biggraham610 on April 23, 2014, 12:11:49 AM

Well, I tried to post some images of this giant swarm, but got red flagged, :? I will share them somewhere else. Great beekeeping to you all, thought I had found another forum to frequent

Hi and welcome to the forum!

We actually have a very good reason to enforce the moderator inclusion of pictures for new members. During the years we have had a lot of spam images in this forum posted by both bots (automatic posting) and humans. The forum is quite well ranked in google, and thus is a target for spam images. We work hard to keep this forum in good shape, and not ruined by porn and other spam images. This makes it a bit inconvenient to post images for new members, but it will not take too long for a new member to be able to post images.

chux · April 23, 2014, 11:53:59 AM

Got a call yesterday for 2 swarms in a town about 45 minutes from the house. The swarms were miles apart. Decided to go catch them. About 20 minutes before i got there, the homeowner called me to tell me that her swarm flew off. I looked around the neighborhood, but couldnt find them.

The second swarm was still there. They came out of a commercial beek friends, hive. He sent me after them. The swarm was too big for a nuc, so i taped a two deep nuc bodies together. I dropped the swarm cluster in the box, then carried it about 20 feet away, to level ground. I went back over twice to dump clusters in a bucket, then dumped the bucket in front of the hive. After an hour, only about a cup of bees were still on the front of the box. Sealed her up, and brought her home. I put syrup out this morning.

I also went to check a swarm trap near a bee tree, yesterday evening. There were at least a dozen scout bees checking out the box. Crossed fingers. If that box catches a swarm in the next few days, that will be my first. I was so excited when i saw all tue traffic at the box. Thought it was occupied, at first.

RHBee · April 24, 2014, 11:23:42 AM

Quote from: Fox Creek on April 22, 2014, 05:04:07 PM
A couple of days ago I went to my bee yard and bees were flying everywhere. Then I saw two swarms moving off, higher over the trees and gone. I also noticed a small clump of bees on the ground next to another hive. Maybe a couple of hundred bees. I thought, OK I must have dropped some comb with honey on it and these bees were taking advantage. The next day, same thing only now the clump was double in size. Well today the clump was 2 feet by 2 feet and 5 inches thick! Dang! Is this a swarm? On the ground? Its been raining all night! Sure enough as I slowly sifted ( gloved fingers) through the bees, there she was. A marked queen from last years new hive! I placed the queen and a bunch of workers in a hive box. I set the box next to the swarm and now all are marching into their new home.

Is this rare for swarms to go to the ground like this?

Was the queen clipped?

RHBee · April 24, 2014, 11:31:46 AM

It's good to see the swarm impulse move north. You guys and gals have fun.

BeeMaster2 · April 24, 2014, 01:21:20 PM

Quote from: biggraham610 on April 23, 2014, 12:11:49 AM
Hey yall, Im new here. Cumberland Va. Caught my first swarm today. It was huge. In a cherry tree above my neighbors hives. I had an extra box so I was able to capture them. Im thinking he dosent want to grow over his 2 existing hives so tommorrow, I will find out, I will raise them and give him the surplus honey. Had to climb the ladder twice, first trip I must have left her up there. Second trip the bees were flocking to the box and lots of fanning going on. Will see tommorrow I suppose. Thanks G
Well, I tried to post some images of this giant swarm, but got red flagged, :? I will share them somewhere else. Great beekeeping to you all, thought I had found another forum to frequent

Updated by eivindm:

Not much to get a reference from but that looks like the biggest swarm that I hve ever seen.
Jim

10framer · April 24, 2014, 01:26:28 PM

jim, i was trying to scale it against the biggest ones i've ever seen. i've hived some that i think went over 5 pounds and this looks bigger.

D Semple · April 24, 2014, 02:13:49 PM

In my experience monster swarms are generally from two or more colonies and are the hardest to get to stay because they contain multiple laying queens and when you throw them both in the same hive one or both will abscond.

I always watch to see if great big swarms want to separate themselves into two or more groups and hive the separate groups 8' - 10' apart from each other. No harm really done if it turns out they are in fact only one swarm as the queenless group will re-join the other hive if that is the case.

Good luck to all.

Don

10framer · April 24, 2014, 10:21:02 PM

another one hanging near the hives today.

D Semple · April 25, 2014, 06:05:32 PM

1-Tues from a managed hive that I helped another beekeeper catch,
1- Wed that wouldn't wait for me to get off work,
1 today (caught playing hooky :-D, hey some guys golf )
all in the KC area

capt44 · April 25, 2014, 10:07:45 PM

The bees are really swarming here in Central Arkansas.
I have filled about everything I've got with swarms.
I'm building tops and bottom boards for I'm out.
I figured after that last cold spell the hives would really be swarming.
I caught 4 today, 2 yesterday, 5 the day before and not counting the swarm traps I have out and the Trap Outs I'm doing.
I got into a mean swarm today, the owner said she requeened with a buckfast queen from Bee Weaver in Texas.
Them gals were mean'ern a wet banty hen on Sunday.

BeeMaster2 · April 26, 2014, 08:20:06 AM

I checked a swarm trap at my farm that I set last week. I saw a lot of scouts checking it out the day after I set it. Last night the door way was full of bees just before sunset. I will be taking it back to town tomorrow.
I will also place another one in the same location.
Jim

chux · April 26, 2014, 11:45:44 PM

I was allowed to take a basketball size swarm from a tree above a commercial beeks hive this morning. Mean girls lit me up on the wrist. About an hour later, i got a call from the lady who had the swarm i missed a few days ago. Another swarm in the nieghborhood. When i pulled up, i saw a swarm coming out of a cypress tree across the street. They never came down. Probably still sitting on a limb 30 feet up. Volleyball size. I caught the swarm she called about, on a chain link fence about 100 feet away from the tree. Football size. I have found another bee tree. Swarm traps next year, for sure. This is the 3rd small s2arm out of thatmtree this week. I am thinking i have a virgin queen here. Man, this is a blast. 8 hives now, if they stay.