I won't make that mistake again.

[BeeMaster2]

A couple of weeks ago, I received a call, during work,  for a swarm in a tree. I ran home during lunch and got a nuc to put them in. After work a newbee friend, David, I am mentoring met me out there. I trimmed up the tree and shook them into the nuc. They were all in my face ears and eyes letting me know they were not happy. Turns out they had been there for 4 days. We suited up and continued to shake the branches and they were even more aggressive. My buddies wife, also a newbee, and daughter were on the way so I told David to tell them not to stop. They were right around the corner and they stopped anyway. When she opened the door, 75 feet away from the swarm, she was immediately stung on the face. They both stayed in the car.
It took a while to get most of the bees in the nuc. I put it in the truck and placed #8 wire cloth over the entrance and took them right home, 30 minute drive. As soon as I got home I opened the entrance and immediately went in the shop to make a STB. Even thought it was after sunset, I opened it and put the STB on because it was so full of bees.
I don't like to disturb a new swarm in a box for a couple of days sop I just kept looking in thought the screen. It did not look good, only a 2 fisted sized ball in one corner and scattered bees under the rest of the screen but not as thick as I was expecting.
On the 5 day I opened it up and as I pulled out the first 2 frames there were just a couple of bunches on each. I looked in the bottom and it was just a dark mass covering the bottom. I use medium frames in deep nucs. Turned out to bee 3 inches of dead bees covering the bottom. It made me sick. I moved the survivors to a small hive.
I then went back in the shop and took the bottoms off my nucs and added screens. I made up a bunch of screen top boards and even an oil tray with a frame to put under the nucs.
I just had too many bees with very little ventelation.
I won't make that mistake again.
Jim

[Kathyp]

if you had a screen over the top, lack of ventilation doesn't seem like it would have been the problem.  you think it was on the drive home?  that's one reason i like the screened bottoms for swarm catch.  did you feed?  any chance they'd been sprayed.  might account for the bad attitude too.

anyway,  bummer.  sometimes SH and we just have to try to learn from it.

[hjon71]

I'd be thinking along the same lines as kathyp.
If they had been there 4 days they were probably getting hungry. You didn't say whether you removed the screen from the entrance or fed them... so starvation is my first guess.

[BeeMaster2]

if you had a screen over the top, lack of ventilation doesn't seem like it would have been the problem.  you think it was on the drive home?  that's one reason i like the screened bottoms for swarm catch.  did you feed?  any chance they'd been sprayed.  might account for the bad attitude too.

anyway,  bummer.  sometimes SH and we just have to try to learn from it.

I'm pretty sure it was the drive home. I didn't get the screen on until II got home. It did not look right when I removed the cover. I was expecting a lot more bees to come to the top but they did not.
There was not a single dead bee around the swarm.
I did not add sugar water nail the next evening.
Thanks.
Jim

[rookie2531]

Jim, I have read that some people spray a swarm with syrup before boxing them. Have you used that method before?

[greenbtree]

It is hard to take in how fast bees can cook themselves.  I think most of of us have done it, one time or another.

JC

[BeeMaster2]

Jim, I have read that some people spray a swarm with syrup before boxing them. Have you used that method before?

No. Usually I am rushing to get to the swarm, usually right after work. If you make up sugar water, you have to use it right away or it goes bad especially if you try to keep it in your vehicle. Not a bad idea.
If I had used it on one huge swarm that I went to. As soon as I walked up to it I may have had a chance to hive it. It took off as soon as I got back to the truck to get my equipment. I was able to walk with that swarm for about a half mile before it crossed a major road and went up and over a fenced in forest.
Jim

[rdy-b]

 Build a beevac-life is much easyer -RDY-B

[BeeMaster2]

Build a beevac-life is much easyer -RDY-B

Actually I have 2. I just did not have one on site.
Jim