First swarm caught 2017

[BeeMaster2]

I just my first swarm in 2017. I have had traps set for almost 2 weeks and the bees could care less.  Monday the bees were dancing at the entrance of 4 of the traps. Today they selected a 5 frame nuc that has medium frames that was hanging 10 feet in the air. One frame has old comp the others are empty frames with a waxed strip in the top slot.
Let the swarms begin. I also got a call late this evening for a large swarm 15' up a tree.
Jim

[Joe D]

Good going Jim, may you catch many more.


Joe D

[GSF]

I caught a huge swarm on Feb 23rd. It filled an 8f deep almost wall to wall.

[Acebird]

Is it common to have so many swarms in your area?  What do you attribute it to?

[GSF]

Last year I caught my first swarm in March, and I thought that was pretty early. My apiary is in my back yard. I live in the country so I have a big yard and some acres to boot. Last year from 14 hives I had 40 swarms and made 103-104 gallons of honey. The last 10 swarms didn't make it - population control swarms. Sugar ants took out 3-5 of them, then robbing got a couple more.

As much as I want to take credit I really can't. I think that #1 it's a good area for bees. Spring flow, a little lull then cotton and fall flowers. #2 OAV usually around August/Sep. #3 I feed Lauri's fortified syrup with my own little twist. #4 Genetics?

In comparison to the northern beeks we have a very long blooming period. The two biggest killer of winter bees down here is mites and starvation. Too many warm days.

[chux]

Last year I caught my first swarm in March, and I thought that was pretty early. My apiary is in my back yard. I live in the country so I have a big yard and some acres to boot. Last year from 14 hives I had 40 swarms and made 103-104 gallons of honey. The last 10 swarms didn't make it - population control swarms. Sugar ants took out 3-5 of them, then robbing got a couple more.

As much as I want to take credit I really can't. I think that #1 it's a good area for bees. Spring flow, a little lull then cotton and fall flowers. #2 OAV usually around August/Sep. #3 I feed Lauri's fortified syrup with my own little twist. #4 Genetics?

In comparison to the northern beeks we have a very long blooming period. The two biggest killer of winter bees down here is mites and starvation. Too many warm days.

So that's around 85 pounds of honey per hive last year? Nice.

[BeeMaster2]

Is it common to have so many swarms in your area?  What do you attribute it to?

When I started in 2010, swarms were rare. We now have well over 200 beekeepers in NE FL and have a lot of feral hives.


Thanks Joe.
Jim

[GSF]

I'd say that the cotton field was a big kicker. They had a flow not long after the "dearth" would have started. I pulled honey 4 times. I would have never pulled honey the forth time but I finally had put 2 and 2 together. I need to pull some honey now, mainly because of what I left on last year.

[swarmtrap]

i've had my traps out for about 3 weeks and nothing yet  but i think its still a little  too early here tho

[BeeMaster2]

Tonight I checked my other traps, 3 of them have a bunch of bees checking them out. The 6 frame deep nuc with medium frames has the bees dancing the most. Hopefully tomorrow they will move in.
Jim

[gww]

I think you guys catching swarms are at least two months ahead of me.  I did get all of mine baited though and now the waiting game is on.  About 50 percent of them had nasty old mice nest in them and I am sure that is not going to help.  Took out a couple of old wasp nest also.  Not counting all the empty equiptment that I put lemon grass in, I have about 16 traps spred around and it took me two days to rubber band a piece of old comb in the frames and put some lemon grass oil in all of them.

Got my fingers crossed that I will be able to tell you about one I got pretty soon.
Cheers
gww

[BeeMaster2]

GWW,
I made up 7 more traps tonight. I hope to bee able to get them spread out in neighbors yards away from my apiary tomorrow.
Jim

[gww]

Saw.....
I find it takes me more time then you would think to make up traps and also to bait them.  I always try to start early so I know it is done.  I pick on relitives and put the traps where they can sorta watch them and call me if they see some bees messing around.  That really helps with the work load.  I hope you catch as many as you can handle.

Good luck
gww

[bwallace23350]

I am hoping to put out my first swarm trap out tomorrow or today. Just got to find the time. How far from an established hive do they need to be?

[gww]

Bw.....
I don't know what others think but what I think is there are bees everywhere and you just need the possible home you are offerring them to be better then the altenatives.  The way I do it is who will let me put one there and if they see bees at the trap will they call me.  My view is the bees will find the trap if they need a home.

I have some traps that I think are in really great places but the first one to catch bees was 10 feet from my garage door, right by a chicken pen with my home made saw mill on the other side.

Untill you start catching some in a certain place.  My view is to have lots of hooks out.  I do think that having 5 traps in one place is not as good as having 5 traps spred over 5 places with some distance apart from each other.  Like maby a half mile to 3 miles between them.  Then you can cover more hives that might bee doing well enough to swarm.

I am no expert.
gww

[bwallace23350]

Bw.....
I don't know what others think but what I think is there are bees everywhere and you just need the possible home you are offerring them to be better then the altenatives.  The way I do it is who will let me put one there and if they see bees at the trap will they call me.  My view is the bees will find the trap if they need a home.

I have some traps that I think are in really great places but the first one to catch bees was 10 feet from my garage door, right by a chicken pen with my home made saw mill on the other side.

Untill you start catching some in a certain place.  My view is to have lots of hooks out.  I do think that having 5 traps in one place is not as good as having 5 traps spred over 5 places with some distance apart from each other.  Like maby a half mile to 3 miles between them.  Then you can cover more hives that might bee doing well enough to swarm.

I am no expert.
gww

Could I put my swarm trap next door to an active hive?

[gww]

bw
I am not sure it would gain you anything and I doubt it would hurt.  Sometimes swarms move into empty equiptment in peoples aperies.  Not what I would be going for unless it was the easiest and the only way you could get a trap out.  One thing is for sure, with a trap you may not catch bees, with out one you won't catch bees.

Hopefully you will be successful in swarm management of your hives and not be expecting to get a swarm from them.
gww

[bwallace23350]

I don't think I will. I am trying to manage them but I was going to put a box out just incase for that reason. I know we have at least one wild feral hive in the woods near my place and there is another one on a golf course about 5 miles from here. Those bees at the golf course have been there for years and people just play golf around them. IN a tree between two fairways. I want to get a feral swarm.

[gww]

I read a tip in an old book about setting up a fake branch pretty close to the hive or if you have a smaller tree close to the hive that the bees will lots of times gather there to rest.  I have seen people put up a pole with a board going out from it flat to the ground maby with a piece of carpet or just the board with a couple of drops of lemon grass oil in the hopes that the swarm would go there first and than they would just shake them in a box.  I would probly put it a couple of hundred feet away from the hive and hope they pick it.

I only know stuff from reading and this question comes up a whole bunch.  Do a search of this site and I bet you find a bunch of responces more then mine.
Good luck
gww

[bwallace23350]

Thanks for all the  help and tips gww