2 swarms brought home tonight.

craneman54 · May 10, 2015, 12:36:35 AM

My swarm traps are medium boxes with hard board tops and bottoms screwed down with 1 inch deck screws. These swarms were caught less than a mile from my house.Once I take the screws out of the top and bottom I plan to set the whole thing on a SBB and slide out the bottom hardboard and have a
reducer to block off the entrance. Then I will take the top hard board off and put an inner cover with a mason jar of sugar syrup on it then the migratory cover.

Does this sound right? Should I keep then closed up for a few days before releasing them?
Anything else I should do or not do for now?

TurnTex · May 10, 2015, 03:18:38 AM

I am a new beekeeper so take my advice with a grain of salt but based on experience! I caught two swarms this year. One on a Monday and the other on Tuesday. I caught them from a tree and got them directly into a 5 frame deep nuc box. I immediately put syrup on them when I got them home. Wednesday of that week, I went out and did not notice much activity from the Monday swarm and just happened to look up in a cedar tree near my apiary and there they were, 25 feet up! They had absconded, ungrateful buggers! I had to get use the bucket on my front end loader to get high enough but I got them down and back into the box. This time I screwed a piece of queen excluder over the entry as my mentor (40 yrs exp) suggested. I left it on for a week and then took it off. They had drawn a lot of comb and had open brood. They are doing great today and going gang busters! The Tuesday hive I did not put an excluder on and thought they would be fine. About 11 days after catching them, they too absconded. I never saw where they went so I just lost them. They too had feed on them and the funny thing is, the day before they left, I peeked into the feeder (home made hive top) to check syrup and they were chugging it like a drunk in a liquor store. I guess they were getting ready to take off!

So, for what it is worth, I will be putting a queen excluder over the entry of every swarm I catch from now on for at least 1 full week!

craneman54 · May 10, 2015, 02:01:54 PM

Yea I figure I would leaves them in the hive for a week before opening up the entrance. I have a quart jar of sugar syrup on top of the inner cover with an empty box around that then the migratory cover on that. I will only open it up to re feed until next weekend.

asprince · May 10, 2015, 06:50:01 PM

If you put a frame of open brood in with them they will not leave. So no need for the excluder.

Steve

OldMech · May 10, 2015, 08:11:46 PM

If you have the resources to give them that frame of brood it is the best insurance you can use. Make sure it is OPEN brood. If you can, also make sure they have one drawn comb.. the queen can lay in it immediately, and that will also lock them down.
Yes, syrup on top, that way they have the resources they need to go to work making comb instantly.

rookie2531 · May 10, 2015, 08:44:17 PM

Congrads, craneman!

TurnTex · May 10, 2015, 08:47:31 PM

Quote from: asprince on May 10, 2015, 06:50:01 PM
If you put a frame of open brood in with them they will not leave. So no need for the excluder.

Steve

I didn't have a frame of open brood at the time! :)

iddee · May 10, 2015, 10:23:20 PM

Three removals in the last four years have absconded with eggs, larva, capped brood, honey and pollen in the hive. The queen was in each one of them. The brood did not anchor them. All three stayed one night and left the next morning.

craneman54 · May 10, 2015, 11:27:43 PM

I am a brand new bee keeper with all brand new equipment. I have no brood or drawn comb. I closed of the entrance and put a quart of 1to1 sugar syrup on the inner cover. I will check them in a week and see how things go.
I am still waiting from Kellybees as to when and if I will get my packages.

iddee · May 10, 2015, 11:43:30 PM

Be sure they have ventilation. They can over heat quickly. They also need pollen to feed new brood.

TurnTex · May 10, 2015, 11:44:11 PM

Craneman,

My mentor and another beek friend advised against closing them up completely, even with adequate ventilation. If you have a queen excluder and can cut a piece to put over the entrance, that will allow the workers to still come and go. The queen and drones can't usually get out though. I would offer to send you a piece of queen excluder but I only have one small piece that my mentor gave me.

craneman54 · May 11, 2015, 08:19:10 AM

Quote from: iddee on May 10, 2015, 11:43:30 PM
Be sure they have ventilation. They can over heat quickly. They also need pollen to feed new brood.

I have no pollen patties will order some today. Dangit I never thought of that,what might I use till I get some patties?? Will a Queen fit through some 1/4" screen?
They have ventilation.

Quote from: TurnTex on May 10, 2015, 11:44:11 PM
Craneman,

My mentor and another beek friend advised against closing them up completely, even with adequate ventilation. If you have a queen excluder and can cut a piece to put over the entrance, that will allow the workers to still come and go. The queen and drones can't usually get out though. I would offer to send you a piece of queen excluder but I only have one small piece that my mentor gave me.

I don't have a Queen excluder. I will order one today also.

rookie2531 · May 11, 2015, 08:41:39 AM

Yes, she can fit in between that

iddee · May 11, 2015, 09:23:10 AM

Brewer's yeast and/or soy flour are used to supplement pollen, among other things. Search for pollen sub, or pollen patty recipe.

craneman54 · May 11, 2015, 10:19:47 AM

Quote from: iddee on May 11, 2015, 09:23:10 AM
Brewer's yeast and/or soy flour are used to supplement pollen, among other things. Search for pollen sub, or pollen patty recipe.

Will do .
Thanks iddee

craneman54 · May 11, 2015, 02:50:59 PM

OK I went to several stores in a 20 mile radius. Not Brewers yest or soy flour to be found. The closest health food store is about 1.5 hours away and it is storming outside today.
I ordered some pollen patties from Manlake along with some queen excluders. Bee will just have to suck on syrup till the pollen patties come in.

I finally got hold of Kellybees about the 2 packages I ordered on 5/1/15.The guy told me they are being shipped tomorrow. So I should have them no later than Friday.

GSF · May 12, 2015, 04:37:52 PM

I'm always learning as well. How do you know if the swarm queen has been mated? Is it a sure thing? That's one of the reasons I started marking my queens. If I get a swarm with a marked queen then I know she's mated, otherwise I stick a frame of drawn out comb in there with some a jar of sugar water on the inner cover. I've caught 23 swarms (my wife caught two of those solo) this year and only have 2 to abscond. I use to put a queen excluder underneath the bottom box but the swarms were happening like clockwork so I ran out of excluders and almost everything else.

btw

Thanks again to the great folks at Bud6 for walking me through a lot of what I'm doing now!! Maybe next year I won't total out my car and can make it. Hopefully our lives will be back to normal by then as well.

Roborep1 · May 29, 2015, 12:52:24 PM

I'm in New England and never see swarms. Had traps out for years. What gives?

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craneman54 · May 29, 2015, 06:21:09 PM

GSf-- The only way I can tell if the queen is mated is to see eggs in the cells. Some can tell by looking at her. From what I understand a mated queens abdomen is swollen/ larger than unmated.

Roborep1--- What do you bait the swarm boxes with? I just use lemongrass oil. I put mine as high as I can reach standing on my feet. No ladder or anything.
I think it is best not to put a swarm box in the woods itself but on the outer edges. I don't know if that is what you are doing,but just a thought. Preferably where there is a long fly way to and from the boxes.

craneman54 · May 29, 2015, 06:22:13 PM

Quote from: craneman54 on May 29, 2015, 06:21:09 PM
GSf-- The only way I can tell if the queen is mated is to see eggs in the cells. Some can tell by looking at her. From what I understand a mated queens abdomen is swollen/ larger than an unmated queen.

Roborep1--- What do you bait the swarm boxes with? I just use lemongrass oil. I put mine as high as I can reach standing on my feet. No ladder or anything.
I think it is best not to put a swarm box in the woods itself but on the outer edges. I don't know if that is what you are doing,but just a thought. Preferably where there is a long fly way to and from the boxes.