Catching bees

[sean]

I am planning to do an extraction next week-end. My question is how can i catch the bees that come around. They aren't my girls as my hives are a couple miles away. but i was amaazed at the number of bees buzzing around my cappings etc. I should be able to get a box of bees if i can catch them. Any ideas?

[MrILoveTheAnts]

You are catching a wild hive?

Do you know their location?

[Jerrymac]

I think he is saying that when he is extracting honey there are a lot of bees that show up. He wants to catch them.
So your hives are only two miles away? They could be your bees.

[Mici]

I should be able to get a box of bees if i can catch them. Any ideas?

now now, if you're sure they aren't yours that would be just stealing, and we all know stealing isn't nice, but as jerry said, they could be yours. anyways, you couldn't make a new hive out of them since they're all pasture bees, coz when they'd fly out of the new box, they'd flie straight home, even if you put them let's say..5 miles from your home, they'd still be inappropriate because they couldn't feed the queen. other than that-this box+let's say 2 brood frames+queen would probably get you loads of honey but after the flow they'd be pretty messed up and would slowly regain the strenght. at least i imagine so

[sean]

I know they arent my bees. My haive are more than 2 miles away(more like 5) there arent any beekeepers around so they don't belong to anybody. But point taken about them not being able to feed the queen. Why not though? i was thinking of putting a few frames of brood with them if i could catch them

[Mici]

because the royal gelle glense or whatever stops working after certain age-20 days or so, don't know exactly but i do know queen is fed by young bees, which pasture bees aren't. with brood included i think it would work, cemerging brood fo course, plus the bees present on that frame.

mabye you should line those bees, should be pretty  easy to catch a few and try to line them, to locate the hive

[sean]

I assume that lining them means tying a peice of string to them and following them to the hive. Will try it, thanks

[Mici]

hmm, don't know if that's one of the methods, maybe to but..how da hell are ya gonna tie a rope round bees neck :shock:
i think you have better odds if you simply catch up to 50 bees, powder them with sugar powder so they're easyer to see when they flie and let one-or a few go at certain distance, but i'll keep it short, make a little search on the forum, lot's has been saind about lining bees.

[sean]

i am sure i have seen where strings or somthing has been attached to the bees to follow them but i will read up on it

[Jerrymac]

M. Bush mentions gluing a feather to the bees to see them better and it slows them down.