Please Post your Swarm Dates?

[Kelbor]

Popped my Swarm Cherry!!!
Warm day here in Willamette Valley (afternoon sun andabout mid 70's)

Had a hive abscond (only started with two). Got a call from the guy I got them from about a swarm report too far for him to travel too (in my neck o the woods). Turned out to bea established hives under a construction office trailer. Got to go crazy with a buddy who also had never been swarmed. Pretty intimidated since there was only two feet crawl - ripped out two feet by two foot nest (comb only as deep as the floor joist). Wondered where all the additional bees were coming from and end up finding another hive two joist over using the same entrance! Did a better extract on the second one. Two stings (on my knee when kneeling down on the bee/gravel mix) on me, zero on buddy!

Getting into my truck and my wife calls - her coworker just saw a small swarm on her driveway trees! When it rains it pours! went out at 8:30. One shake and went home at 8:31!

Observations: Got alot of experience in one day....long...long day (built another hive as well for the Gals). Bees prefer when you give them a home.

1st Swarm2.jpg

1st Swarm.jpg

[dmpower]

just a tadd offensive!

[Mike Tuggle]

Missed a "basketball-sized" swarm today in Hyde Park, NY 12538 by 10 minutes. :-(

[Batman]

Swarm from one of my hives yesterday AM. I knew it was coming as I had inspected my hives a week ago and saw the swarm cells. I did 3 splits and still couldn't find my queen. So it popped yesterday. Today I was awoken by another swarm call.
Galt, Ca 95633 x 2

C2

[Pacific_NW_BeeGuy]

Hi All,
First year Beek here. I've been reading the postings in this forum for about a year now. I've really enjoyed all the information. Since I just trapped my first swarm, I thought I would also do my first posting. I'm located in Western Washington. My property has had a feral nest in a large Ash tree for years. I've watched them swarm 3 or 4 times over the years. This year, I put up a swarm trap (from Mann Lake) about 10 feet off the ground in another large Ash tree. There were no signs of bees a week ago last Sunday. This last Friday, I discovered major bee activity. I don't know if they are from the ones from my other tree or not. Friday evening, I brought it down and transferred the bees to a 10-frame I had set up earlier. Wow! I was amazed at how many bees were in that swarm! There were more bees there than in the 5-frame nuc of Caniolans that I had bought at the end of May.

These gals had already made four or five decent size combs in the trap already too. Even though it has only been a few days, it looks like they have settled in real well. Today, I had to remove the entrance reducer as they were so many of them coming and going.

The Carnies have been so gentle, that I got a bit spoiled. These gals are definitely a bit "hotter". At this point, I would like to wait a full week before my first inspection to give them time to settle in. Actually, I'd like to be checking it out right away, but I think it best if I wait.

I better wrap this up, but I wanted to thank everyone for all the great information in these threads. I know I still have a lot to learn, but I don't feel like a complete rookie anymore.

[LBF]

We had a big swarm move into a dead out on Saturday June 18th. Massive swarm that filled two deeps.

And I just got a call that another swarm moved into one of my traps on Sunday the 19th. If they're still there I'll pick them up tomorrow morning.

Zip code 54013, Glenwood City, Wisconsin.

[nortpete]

I got my first swarm of the season last night. 6-22-2011. mostly dark queen. zip 16403

[lambetti]

My Italians swarmed on 6-4-11. I caught them and put them in an empty hive (with drawn comb) - but they didn't stick around... Waiting for the weather to clear to see if I still have a queen (didn't look good last week...)

Zip=01510 (Clinton, MA - No. Central MA).

[Wildwood]

06/18 swarm in northern Illinois.

[honeydreams]

Just had my first swarms of the season yesterday two different ones in the same day.

[Rohe Bee Ranch]

4 june 2011-One of my colonies swarmed and went into my swarm trap which is the good news. Unfortunately the land owner was mowing with his bush hog and ran over the swarm trap which was on a 18 inch hive stand and obliterated the entire thing. The only thing that survived was the old plastic bottom board. Everything else was ground to pulp.

[msapostol]

One of our colonies swarmed 20 June 2011. They started setting up shop in our worm compost box which scared the heck out of me when I opened up the normally silent abode of the worms.

[delber]

I got a swarm call from Avondale Pa zip 19311 Sunday 6/26/11 at about 2:00 Pm. Nice size swarm, found the queen and they're in a hive now. Woo Hoo!!!

[queenking]

got a call late last night for a swarm on the side of the house. found the queen just about dead. it rained that day so i think she got wet and cold. got them home and checked the girls this morning and found the queen walking around on the frams. she is doing fine.

[boknows honey bee's]

Love those free honey bees. I removed a colony of say 50 to 60,000. I hived them and two days latter they swarmed. I went to feedthem and hive is empty. Bummer hate that. I am so careful to check all hives for signs. I guess they just wanted out. If they only knew what i was going to do for them.

[New Ky Beekeeper]

I am in Central Kentucky and split a couple of hives on April 2nd. On May 5, 6 and 7 the same small hive that I moved to my father's house 4 miles away had a swarm of been in a small tree about 50 yards from the single hive (yes, 3 swarms from the same hive - each one smaller than the first. There were no other bees (known) in the area. It was a nice warm spring 65-70 during the day and 50 at night.

[willyC]

7/27/2011, Lander WY 82520
Temp: 80f, clear blue sky, no wind.
Swarm was from my own hive, I put another super on two days prior but the girls must not have read the memo.
Probably 6 pounds of bees and my first retrieval, lots of fun shaking that many bees onto the heads of my wife and her friend

[Jim Koenig]

Had a swarm move into a bait hive in my backyard last week while I was on vacation, what a nice surprise.

[Eyeshooter]

July 1st about 10:00AM. Sullivan, NH
5 pound swarm from a 2nd year Jennifer Berry queen. Swarm went about 50' west onto a low hanging pine branch. I happened to be coming out to split the hive. My wife found the swarm, I cut off the branch and re-hived it into the hive I was going to use for the split. Very gentle as one would expect.

[pbuhler]

Hive swarmed today 7/2/11. I was away a week and couldn't check on a split I made into a deep brood box with a medium super 1/2 filled with honey. I believe the hive became honey bound. Too high to get, ignored swarm traps and left. Killington, VT 05751 :-(