And masked by the high summer rain. Will be an interesting 2018 summer
2 Likes
Hi Everyone,
What a gorgeous day today. There is a swarm on a small branch of a bottle brush tree that Ive been asked to catch, never done this before, tho Ive seen the videos, it seems pretty straight forward and is very easily accessible. My question is how long do we have to catch it, its been there since this morning and we are thinking of catching it tomorrow. Any help with catching it would be great.
I was thinking of shaking the branch with a brood box underneath then cutting off the branch.
Thanks.
Hi Sharon, I wouldn’t wait…
Never caught a swarm myself but saw a few in the bushland near home last year… Two hung around for at least 24hrs in the same spot while four had moved on in less than a few hours.
The other thing I have done is to cut the branch (whilst holding onto it - if you can) and lower the bees (whilst still on branch) slowly into the box…
Grab a frame of brood from your hive to put with them too if you can…
1 Like
Right thanks guys. Put homemade brood box under it but unfortunately a lot dropped onto the ground. About 2/3 went into the box. We have left the box there, with the lid on and hopefully the queen is in there and they will go into the box. If they stay we will move the box tomorrow.
This is our first swam catch and its really not as easy as it looks in the videos!! 
4 Likes
Sounds like you did a great job!
Don’t forget to only move it of an evening once all/most of the foragers have returned for the day.
1 Like
Hi SnowflakeHoney, we were thinking around then, though is overcast and rainy, just hope we got the queen! I suppose we’ll see when we get home 
1 Like
Hi Jenny,
Sorry been away and have not been on the forum for a while, i saw your post and thought i would let you know that
I have 2 Flow Hives and one Horizontal Flow Hive and all are in Balingup not far from you.
I live in Perth are down there every 2 week so feel free to come over when i am down there.
1 Like
Hi Johno, thanks very much. Have purchased a nucleus from Southeen Forests
Honey in Nannup but cannot pick up till Nov/Dec. When I’m up and running I
am sure to have questions. Meanwhile would love to meet and have a look at
what you are doing. Let me know when you are next in Balingup. Jen
Well the girls are happy in their new home, thank goodness. Just wondering, should we be feeding them until they get themselves established? Ive been feeding mine for a while, though the last jar I put in was on Monday and theyve bearly touched it so far, so Im thinking they dont really need it now?
Hi Everyone, I need some help.
my bees are on the outside of the hive, its just rained and I thought they might go inside, when it cooled down, I thought they were outside cause of how hot it got today. Im afraid that they are bearding and getting ready to leave but I checked them a couple of weeks ago and they still had an empty frame and I couldnt see any queen cells, but Im only a beginner, if I put my super frames on in the morning will it be too late? Is this ok?
Thanks Sharon
Hiya Sharon, they’re fine, bearding is normal on hot days. They do what they do when they want. Watch them and learn. 
Is your brood box full of bees yet?
I noticed nectar being deposited in the F frames after today’s warm weather. Finally! No doubt they will have moved it elsewhere tomorrow.
2 Likes
@Sharon_Olesen Bearding doesn’t mean they’ll leave. A good portion of my colony was bearding today too. I’m putting it down to humidity as the storm rolled in.
When did you last check your brood box though? I’m going to guess you need a super in place. I’m about to add my second super…
1 Like
I also just noticed your pebble dish. Is that the only source of water for your bees? If so, you’ll need a lot more on a hot summer day… My bees can easily go through a couple of litres in a day under the right (hot) conditions…
1 Like
Great thanks for that, yes it was just a quick fix but I ended up with dead bees in it during winter so need to do something else. I only checked it on the 1st, there was still an empty frame at the time so didnt put the supers on. The box was loaded with brood though. I was feeding them but they stopped taking it so I took it away. I’ll check if first thing in the morning and hopefully put the supers on.
Thanks guys this is such a great site for beginners like me :)
1 Like
Morning
Newbee asking advise.
We captured a swarm on WAFL Grand Final weekend so about a month ago and opened the hive yesterday (third inspection) and I have some questions about what we saw.
- Is the patching in the brood normal?
- Some of the gaps in the brood seem very dark, is that normal?
- Each of the 8 frames has comb to varying degrees but all have a bulge in them. Is this cross combing and how do I fix it?
- Is it normal for the larvae to be slightly pink?
Newbee again
…
5. We caught 2 swarms WAFL weekend, the second was very small. Can we take some frames with bees from the parent hive and augment the smaller swarm? If so…
a. Will it work if the hive is less that 2km away?
b. Brood or honey frames?
Many thanks in advance.
Bec
I think the brood looks ok. Did you have a starter strip at the top of the frame for them to build down from? Any other photos?
Tk you for reply @Dan2. Yes I have heaps of pictures. What angle would be best?
Starter strip from flowhive