Beesource Beekeeping Forums banner

Caught a swarm barehanded in the air!

2869 Views 20 Replies 20 Participants Last post by  Backyarder
Today I was marking queens and a small mating nuc swarmed right in front of me! I keep my dead queens in a small jar of rubbing alcohol which I happened to have near by. I dipped my finger into the jar and then ran out and dabbed the fluid on low branches....and then for kicks I ran into the middle of the cloud of bees and they landed on my hand!
They felt really neat crawling and grabbing on to hold the cluster up. I kept them on my hand for a good 15 minutes watching and then I slipped them into a small hive with a frame of brood and they seem to be staying. By far the best swarm experience I have ever had!

Later in the evening I noticed another small swarm had landed on one of the branches that I had dabbed with the magic liquid. Keep those dead queens!

Yes I need to make the nucs less strong!

See less See more
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
Awesome, just Awesome!
Chuck Norris would have pull them outa the hive. Cause Chuck Norris waits for no bee.:sleep:
That must have been exciting, good job. Don't your dead queens smell like alcohol?
Simply incredible - one in a million experience, I envy you!
Simply incredible - one in a million experience, I envy you!
Great job! I have two dead virgin queens I kept. If I put them in alcohol will it work like yours?
Cool!

I can tell you what not to do with that "smelly" hand. Don't stick it in a strong queenright hive. I caught a few virgin queens last week and then harvested a queen cell to make split. I got the donor frames and bees from my strongest hive. As soon as I grabbed a frame with my middle finger, they tried to terminate the "queen" with extreme prejudice. Three stings to the cuticle will bring tears to your eyes.
Nice photo, that would get your heart rate up a little I bet.:)
I thought this post was going to be like a Paul Bunyan type tall tale, but was amazed when I opened it and saw your photo. That is amazing. And capturing it in a photo is just
amazing. Thanks for sharing it.
Now that's a unique selfie. ;)

Great job, and thanks for sharing.
>I have two dead virgin queens I kept. If I put them in alcohol will it work like yours?

Adding them fresh would have helped. Virgins don't have nearly the pheromones of a laying queen. I would add them to the alcohol. I wouldn't count on amazing results until you have added some laying queens to the mix...
Waaaay cool! Best swarm catch ever?

Now, how do I get my wife to stand still and catch a swarm while I make the video?

;)
Adding this to my bucket list - catch a swarm bare handed. Simply amazing!
The coolest thing I have seen all day! Thanks for sharing that!
Yep selfie it was. It is my only choice as I work alone. I had a veil sitting on my head as I walked into the swarm but it was not tied on tight and bees got up in it so I pulled it off which was so much nicer. I think my jar of alcohol has at least 30-40 queens in it along with a drop of lemon grass oil.
WOW!! That is incredible! You are so awesome! I LOVE this picture!
1 - 20 of 21 Posts
This is an older thread, you may not receive a response, and could be reviving an old thread. Please consider creating a new thread.
Top