[Ryan Williamson]

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!

 

[drlonzo]

Awesome, just Awesome!

 

[phersbees]

Awesome, just Awesome!

Chuck Norris would have pull them outa the hive. Cause Chuck Norris waits for no bee.

 

[queenbee3074]

That must have been exciting, good job. Don't your dead queens smell like alcohol?

 

[RayMarler]

Wow, what a great experience!

 

[ForrestB]

Simply incredible - one in a million experience, I envy you!

 

[HoneybeesinJapan]

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?

 

[Brad Bee]

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.

 

[larrybeach]

Nice photo, that would get your heart rate up a little I bet.

 

[BeeMoose]

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.

 

[Mike Gillmore]

Now that's a unique selfie.

Great job, and thanks for sharing.

 

[Michael Bush]

>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...

 

[merince]

Awesome pic, Ryan Williamson! Brad Bee, OUCH!

 

[David LaFerney]

Is that a selfie?

 

[Phoebee]

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?

 

[Zbee]

Adding this to my bucket list - catch a swarm bare handed. Simply amazing!

 

[Annabee]

The coolest thing I have seen all day! Thanks for sharing that!

 

[Ryan Williamson]

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.

 

[Teal]

WOW!! That is incredible! You are so awesome! I LOVE this picture!

 

[Snowfighter]

Amazing. Thanks for sharing