Catching a swarm within a mile away?

[djdowney]

Hi!

I'm a Davis,CA Bee Keeper who has 3 years of experience bee-keeping and catching swarms...but I've never caught a swarm within a mile of my house. Is there a particular rule for catching swarms...like they must be more than 2 miles away.  I think I've heard this before. I'm about to catch a swarm that someone told me about but it's within a mile of my house.  Will the bees stay put if I move them to my backyard?

Thanks for any help!
Derek

[Michael Bush]

A quarter mile is a good rule of thumb.

[djdowney]

Thanks,

I'll let you know what happens after I catch the swarm!

-Derek

[Michael Bush]

The swarm will stay in the box if the queen is there and they think it's a suitable home.  They don't care.  But if you're setting a bait hive a quarter of a mile is a good distance from the original hive.  Once you have them in a tree, I'd be tempted to set a bait hive on the ground right under them if they are too far up to get.

[qa33010]

There were two and now three, just found a third, within 1/3 of a mile.  Two within about 100 yards and the other further away.  The closest swarm was my next door neighbor.  The color was not colors of my hives but did remind me of the other bees.

[mgates61]

qa33010.......



Send some of those swarms up to drasco.....I could use some.





Mike

[metzelplex]

    Couldn't you take them some where for thirty days till they settled down then move them home maybe over in woodland somewhere?  then bring them home?    metzelplex