Caught my first swarm

Swarms & Bee Catching
1

I have a classic flow hive that has been unused and last week I found a swarm. I managed to shake them into a box and now my hive it happily buzzing away.

I have the brood box but have left the super off for now. At what point should I put it on? We are med spring here now.

2

As @Dawn_SD says:

  1. Every frame has fully drawn comb on most of the frame, and
  2. Every frame is 80% full of food or brood, and
  3. Every frame is completely covered with bees

As far as painting, like you said, you can paint the super and roof somewhere else. Is the hive cedar? If so, you could just leave it au naturale.

1 Like
3

I would recommend at least sealing the cedar with a nice natural oil :+1: