You need to get the queen. So find the biggest bulk and shake that into your box. If she is in there the rest will follow. also grab a frame of open eggs/brood put it in the box they will stay to take care of them.
Help! Bees Swarmed and are in tree next to hive!
All I have is a nuc and no frames. Luckily I only live a few miles from Dadant and can get what I need tomorrow. What should I get? Will nuc and frames do? Should I do a split after the fact and take frames out of existing hive to build nuc?
The tree is has dense foliage and it may be a trick to get them down, they are about 8-10 feet up.
The tree is has dense foliage and it may be a trick to get them down, they are about 8-10 feet up.
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+1, Good luck Pick and be careful. You can do this. I'm new, know virtually nothing yet, and the same thing happened to me this year. Mine were 15 ft or so up, so it was pretty intense. I'm attaching a pic of my situation. I got my big ladder, cut the limb, got them down and dumped them. They've stayed too!You need to get the queen. So find the biggest bulk and shake that into your box. If she is in there the rest will follow. also grab a frame of open eggs/brood put it in the box they will stay to take care of them.
How big is the swarm? Swarms want to feel they have "room to grow". Get them down ASAP...the scouts have already been out looking for a new home, so more often than not, they are gone in the AM. Hopefully they'll stick around long enough for you to shake them! Don't feel the need to lug the hive box up a ladder. Shake them into a 5 gallon bucket or something similar with a lid, cover loosely, go down the ladder, then shake the bees from the bucket into the hive box. Hopefully you get momma on the first shake, and the rest will follow. Look for fanning on the landing board, and smell for the scent of Lemongrass. A few bees will still hang to, and around the branch, but if you got the queen, they will follow in virtually no time. Conversely, if they all return back to the swarm spot, she's still up there. Shake more vigorously than you think you should need to. Swarms look very precarious, but they have a better hold than you think. Place in their permanent location after dark. Good luck!
Well? was the swarm still there this morning? If so...I'd be getting them into SOMETHING to hold em till you have a nuc set up, even if it's a cardboard box.
Got off work early, ran home, stopped by Dadant and got some extra frames with foundation. Got home, yippee, bees still in tree! Got frames of honey, brood and eggs into nuc. Shook tree branch and most fell into 5 gallon bucket. I then poured the bucket into the nuc, put top on with sugar water and pollen patty.Well? was the swarm still there this morning? If so...I'd be getting them into SOMETHING to hold em till you have a nuc set up, even if it's a cardboard box.
Looks like bees that spilled over and fell on the ground are marching up the side of the cooler into the hive. I hope that is a sign the queen is in there! With all the mayhem that ensued, I won't be able to look for the queen until things settle down.
I would set the box so the opening is touching the bees on the ladder see if you can get them to march in. If that does not work I would shake and brush the rest into the box. If you have LG EO add a drop or two to your box.
I dont know how big the swarm was but it looks like enough bees on that ladder to fill a nuc to me.........:scratch:
I dont know how big the swarm was but it looks like enough bees on that ladder to fill a nuc to me.........:scratch:
That is kinda what I was thinking as well.
Yes, I think there was enough to fill THREE nucs!! There was also a big pile on the ground in addition to what fell into the bucket, I think those are the bees that went up the ladder. I got about 3 gallons of bees into the nuc and some overflowed onto the ground. Anyhow I went back to "bee store" and got another nuc box and 5 wax covered frames. Going to stack on top of the other box. Guy at Dadant said to shake bees off ladder onto ground, and see if they crawl up into box.
See if you can spot the queen and get her in a clip, brush some bees into the box with her and the rest will follow. They are going to be waaaaay too big for that nuc, or a double nuc, though. Looks like they'd pack a deep pretty well to me.
bee careful. havent expeirenced it but I've read swarms sometimes hang out and then leave anyway. Might wanna get a queen excluder set up for the entrance to keep her in awhile until she's decided this is gonna be her home for the future.
Ever try and find a queen in 2 5gallon buckets of bees? What a day! I had a 3' circle of bees on the ground for several hours and then they swarmed again. I've got the nuc set up with 2 boxes and frames, lots of bee traffic in and out and the sugar jar is going down, soooooo......I'll go back out and see how things are going in an hour or so.bee careful. havent expeirenced it but I've read swarms sometimes hang out and then leave anyway. Might wanna get a queen excluder set up for the entrance to keep her in awhile until she's decided this is gonna be her home for the future.
BTW it looks like they started comb in the tree, where they were. A pretty good chunk, considering they were only there 24 hours or so.
I got a small swarm way out on a limb building comb, found them when the wind knocked one of their combs out the other day. On the UVA Campus. Still trying to figure out how Im gonna pull it off while at work........:scratch:
The queen dropped onto the ladder (likely on the bottom rung area)....That was a good sized swarm...why did you opt for the Nuc? By the looks of it, perhaps a 10 frame deep, or two medium 10 frames would have been a good option...
Any updates?
If I was shaking a swarm the size of the ball on the lower rung, I would use a Nuc....(football sized). A swarm that size, I would definitely use a 10 frame deep or, at MINimum, a medium 10 framer. Just my two cents...
I hope you manage to hive them...that's a lot of population to see fly away...
Any updates?
If I was shaking a swarm the size of the ball on the lower rung, I would use a Nuc....(football sized). A swarm that size, I would definitely use a 10 frame deep or, at MINimum, a medium 10 framer. Just my two cents...
I hope you manage to hive them...that's a lot of population to see fly away...
I was going to post earlier but something must've happened. I was going to tell you not to use a nuc, it'll be too small.... people constantly say it's fine, but it's the lamest thing to use to hive any decent sized swarm. I always use two boxes for shaking swarms, one with frames, one empty that sits on top to funnel the bees down. If it's a big swarm, well, just put some frames in the top box when done and call it a day.
+1 :thumbsup:I was going to post earlier but something must've happened. I was going to tell you not to use a nuc, it'll be too small.... people constantly say it's fine, but it's the lamest thing to use to hive any decent sized swarm. I always use two boxes for shaking swarms, one with frames, one empty that sits on top to funnel the bees down. If it's a big swarm, well, just put some frames in the top box when done and call it a day.
Swarms need to feel they have room to grow, as I said earlier... You gotta quit messing around and just do it...no offense. Time is NOT on your side at this point, and the more you mess with them, the less happy they will be...and more apt to thumb their nose at you as they fly off into the sun set...
Good luck!
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