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good capture

4K views 18 replies 12 participants last post by  BULLSEYE BILL 
#1 ·
Had a swarm today, it went into a hawthorn bush about 4' off the ground, got an empty brood box with combs and placed on a bottom board under the swarm, within 6" gave the branch a sharp downward yank and they fell right in the middle, left the top off and went back about 30min later and repeated the process with the few that regrouped on the branch, left it for about 30 min, and then slid the top on, seems to be a happy hive now.
 
#2 ·
Good Work I caught one of mine last sat about 12:15pm. I take out 4 or 5 frames and then dump them in and cover a few seconds then reopen and gently install the frames. then cover again. I also now put a queen excluder on the bottom to convince the queen to stay on the rite cell . sometime I use a deep and a mediun to give them more room on a giant swarm. I must stop the madness but I do like catching swarms.
 
#3 ·
On Saturday I caught my third swarm of season. I have caught many over the years but this was the biggest ever. I guess it to be 6-8 pounds of bees. They landed in a boxelder tree about 13 feet up. Brought them down by brushing into a 5 gallon bucket, covering w/cardboard, then pouring into a brood super. Did this about three times over several hours before I got them to settle in. Third time was a charm, I apparently got the queen because now they appear to be organizing their new quarters. Called several friends over to witness the event. Makes a good educational experience and might convert some potential new beekeepers by sharing this with them.

[This message has been edited by Karl (edited May 26, 2003).]
 
#9 ·
I like Michael's idea! They are so much easier to catch when they cooperate and land within reach. The swarm I caught last weekend was very gentle and easy to work. Checked them this morning and they seem to be doing very well.
 
#10 ·
Had Three swarm within days, for a total of three, checked the swarm from the hawthorn yesterday and they are going strong, the other two are doing well also.
 
#11 ·
Got my third swarm yesterday, it and the first was the classic swarm hanging six to eight feet up on a light branch.

The second was on the ground inside a spreading juniper during a light rain. I ended up just scooping up all the leaves and litter and putting it in a box. It didn't take long and they all marched into the box, probably to get out of the rain as much as to group up with the queen.

It sure is a nice start when you get enough bees to cover three or four frames right off the bat.

I know that I will never buy another package again.

Bill
 
#12 ·
i've got a swarm story,yesterday one of my stronger hives had a massive swarm,it looked like something from out of the bible,it settled about 40 foot up in an oak tree,too high to get at,and i had to be somewhere in an hour.i set out a complete hive with two empty deeps of drawn comb under the tree in the shade,i then took my hot knife and uncapped a funky 1/2 full frame from a dead out of this past winter. i stuck this frame in an empty hive body and leaned it against the empty hive(the top hive body also had an upper entrance. then i sat a bottom board on top of it all to shade,in no time bees from the swarm were making use of the uncapped frame of honey.i left them like that,and this morning i checked and the frame of honey was completely empty and the swarm had moved in as i hoped.
 
#13 ·
My bees just swarmed today, an hour or two after I checked them!!! they settled in a tree about thirty feet up, which I could have gotten to, because I live right next door to my fathers rock quarry and they just rented a cherry picker, but the tree was too far from the edge of a small cliff that it had a chance of reaching it but it was just below some power lines! So I put out two nucs three empty hive bodies and two cardboard boxes I've used to catch other swarms in, all of them had some sort of bee hive smell to them. I have a picture of the swarm if any one wants to see it, jtjrson@aol.com. I don't know if you can post pictures on this forum.

Joseph
 
#15 ·
I wen't out to see the swarm and didn't see it in the tree and it wasn't in any of the boxes I put out, but I looked down right were I was standing and there was a broken branch with about 4 pounds of bees on it!!! that is really cool! And they didn't fall strait down if they did they would have landed in our creek and been washed away. God must have had a strong wind blowing to keep them out of the creek!!
Well they're in box now and hopefull beging to draw some comb.

Joseph
 
#16 ·
last friday i got a call about a swarm in town.i went and got it,it was about a 4 pounder,only about 7 feet up in an ornimental cedar.today i got a call,and went and caught a secondary swarm out of the same tree, same branch,they must of still smelled the phermones of the last swarm.haven't found the original hive yet.
 
#17 ·
Got my ninth swarm today. This one had very exquisit taste, it was in the doorway of a 3+ million dollar home still under construction.

It was worth the trip just for the tour of the castle.

There must have been 100 workers in the buildings. There seemed to be quite a few of them saying they were allergic to bees. I deem that a liability for a business, so I didn't feel too bad charging them $50 to take their four lbs of bees away.
That's about the cost of a square foot of their graystone sidewalk.

Bill
 
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