From: "Ludwik Klimaszewski" <Lu.Klimaszewski@btopenworld.com>
Date: Wed, 5 Jun 2002 21:45:58 +0100
To: <BiologicalBeekeeping@yahoogroups.com>
Subject: Re: Making Swarms

Hi Joe

> What is the best way to 'make a swarm' for a swarm
> catching demonstration?

I see Chris has got in first with his Taranov Swarm page.

I just wanted to say that I used this description to make my own swarms a
few weeks ago. Three swarms in one day. One on to drawn comb (not 4.9) and
two on to 4.9 foundation strips. These latter two were without any drawn
comb. I was hoping to use them to start regressing.

Amazing to see. The term "Black Magic" springs to mind. My mother, from whom
I inherited the bees, was dead impressed; gob-smacked, even. I didn't hang
them in a tree as Chris describes, but hived them straight away. I expect
you could though, and you'd have a "real" swarm to use for your
demonstration.

But back to my bees. Of the three I did, the hive on ready-drawn comb is
behaving just like a regular swarm. Of the other two, one decamped the next
day, but four weeks down the line, I see that the one (on strips) is drawing
comb at 50-51mm per ten cells. A promising start, I think. Maybe I'll try it
again later in the season to try for a "winter bee" queen.

One snag occurs to me though. As is common in the UK, my hives are on a
single brood box, so the job was quite easy. I don't know how it would be if
you are on two or three brood boxes, with many more bees to handle.

Give it a go why doncha. I wouldn't have missed the experience.

Lu.