Missed a swarm, darn

My wife just sent me this picture that one of her friends husband posted on FaceBook. It was hanging under their mail box two days ago so I am pretty sure they are gone on their way. I will have to spread the word for people to let me know if they find anymore.

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Hi @adagna, How do u capture a swarm like that? swarm captures I have seen thus far have been on a brunch and they just shake them into a box.

Thanks.

Steve,

Put your bee suit on n gloves, move a cardboard or hive box close. ( I might add a sheet or old blanket on the ground ) then scoop handfuls into the box. When you have most in the box watch n wait. If you got her Magesty the rest workers will quickly march in too. Might take an hour but you’ll have your swarm … Try it … You’ll like it ! Done this few times before when I was a kid/teen beekeeper Gerald

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Interesting @Gerald_Nickel , I’m new to all of this, sounds like a better way then forking out 200 for a hive. Spewing I missed the swarm that was in my street last summer.
Thanks for the advice, I’m gonna be on swarm look out now!

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Brush as @Gerald_Nickel or a Bee Vac (a useful bit of kit if you are a swarm collector)

Hi Steve, after viewing Adam’s photo, what I would do is hang a frame of brood using a piece of garden tie directly under the letterbox. It wont take long before that frame of brood is completely covered in bees. That is where the queen will most likely end up. After 15 minutes, gently place the frame of brood in a nuk box & put the lid on & place it as close as possible to the letterbox stand. If the queen is in the nuk box, all the bees will go in. If she’s still under the letterbox, the bees will leave the nuk & brood & go back to the letterbox. If that happens, just try again & leave the frame there a bit longer.

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I just had another thought. If you had some sort of table or stool where you can place a nuk or super box directly under the bees, touching them, with a frame of brood containing young larvae in the center (or the side closest to the bees), flanked by empty frames & a couple of drops of lemongrass oil. The bees will quickly go down into the box from the top. Once your happy most of the bees are in the box, put the lid on & come back just after dark to pick it up.
This video kind of explains what I’m saying.

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Yes…I had forgotten Jeff’s trick.

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G’day Dee, thank you:)

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I would ask. You never know…

Dee ! My last swarm I didn’t have a “Brush”. I had to borrow a ladder n pole pruner to get them. After last cut of little limbs, it Rained honeybees ! :smile:.

. It was a successful capture but not exactly how I like to do it. But you do what you safely can so bees are not destroyed or lost. Now five days later they are sucking one pint of syrup a day n starting to build honeycomb. . This small colony of feral bees seems to be more adapted n hearty. I’ll keep careful records about this n see how well they do building a bigger n stronger cluster of workers.

Love working with my “girls”! :+1:
Gerald

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Hi Jeff…how’s things?
Spring is finally here and I have supered my hives…happy days :smile:

Hi Dee:) really good thanks. That’s great that spring is finally there. We’re in our last month of autumn & our daytime temps. are still high. We’re breaking records all over the state for max. temps for April. Anyway at least now I’m not stressing about my hives swarming. Although I did put a video on here yesterday of a swarm I caught last year only one week before winter officially started.

Looking at that video again, I shutter (thanks to you & Dawn), thinking about chilled brood & associated consequences.