Hi Bec, I am on the eastern side of the country and rarely feed swarms, they will hve enough food onboard to keep them going for a few days, however if your forecast is rain for a few days then it will do no harm to feed a 1:1 sugar/water solution to keep them going.
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Thanks. We will possibly feed them in next few days as we need to move them to the other side of Perth
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Hi @BecW I think youād be ok not feeding them. We arenāt getting constant showers so your bees will be out foraging.
Thank you. Iāve just caught a second swarm for my sister from the same over loaded hive. They swarmed onto my new hive into the lid. Man I need a stiff drink.
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Iāve just had a friend tell me that another swarm has occurred in our suburb. They are on a tree. Anyone want a swam?
Wow, swarm city!
Putting the suburb out there will help. Iām guessing youāre down in the flatlands somewhere?
They always say you can never have too much hardware. 
Well done with the swarm capture btw.
LOL sounds like you are pretty lucky with all the swarms you are getting 
Hi Guys,
Just received our 6 Frame starter flow hive and eagerly putting it together. New to beekeeping, so reading / watching / following as much as i can at the moment - so much to learn
Can anyone advise best place to source bees SOR (Mandurah Area)?
Am on a waiting list for February, however with the hive set up, Spring upon us and not to mention excited kids, seems pity to wait so long?
Any advice or information appreciated.
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Iāve had 3 Nucs et up laced with Lemongrass oil for the last month, and have got nothing.
One of my colonies swarmed before the wet weather hit and i missed it.
Iām waiting for a warm day I can inspect and swap some frames in my other 2 hives.
The rain and cold is relentless in the great southern right now
@onehivehoney does lemongrass oil actually work as a bait? It naturally contains citronella which is typically an insect repellentā¦I wouldnāt have thought it suitable as a baitā¦
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If you have hives already why do you wait for them to swarm? Could you split the hive instead?
I put a message on my local facebook page for anyone Thatcher swarms in their backyard. It happens alot in Riverton. Try that.
Riverton Willetton Shelley
Lemongrass oil is supposed to work.
I donāt want them to swarm but Iām often not home and swarms happen,
so Iād like to maybe catch one if it did.
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Very new keeper - 4 day old swarm. This was on the plastic tray at the bottom of the
Hive. What is the pale waxy stuff. Could it be caps off new bee? Please please please.
This is what 4 of the frames looked like.
Cold so couldnāt really see the cells. But thought I could see larvae.
That would be either wax platelets that have fallen off the bees or wax cappings from bees eating honey if you have any capped honey frames in your hive.
No honey yet. The swarm is only 4 dayscold only.
I agree with @Rodderick, it is wax in its purest form.
You have to remember that swarms are wax-producing factories. The bees are primed to build a new home from the moment they swarm, so all of the house bees ramp up their wax production to maximum. They build as fast as they can, but some wax will fall from their abdomens to the floor of the hive. If the slider is in the lower slot, they canāt reach it to clean it up. Congratulations, you have a fantastically wax-productive colony!
Just FYI, cappings from brood are almost always darker wax, because the bees mix other stuff in with the wax to make it porous, so that the developing pupa can breathe though the cap.
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Awesome knowledge. Thanks. So it looks all good?
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