Since she is a newbie I would probably give it to her and help her out. However if you decide to keep it I wouldn't t think hard of you either since you did capture it. There will be other swarms to catch.

 

Yep. . Beesource needs a "like" button.

 

Hard to believe that those bees are hers. If you want to give her the swarm, that's very nice of you but unless they have little name tags on them or you where on her property when you caught them then no way.

 

I agree with Alblancher. You can give it to her out of goodwill but not because of alleged ownership.

 

I am located 1.5 km away in a densely populated area. I am torn.

 

Adam.......I'd give it her just because of goodwill, she is a newbee and it'll "play forward." BUT I would let her know that's why you're giving it to her not out of any sense that it's "hers." Make her come & get it in her equip.

 

Well since you e-mailed your local group informing them of your catch, you kind of set yourself up into giving it back. Oherwise you will look like a ....., er not so nice of a person to the people in the group. Do you really want to dig your heels in and give her the ol' prove to me that they are your's bit.

 

was the qeen in the swarm marked if so charge her a boarding fee LOL J/k If I didn't need it I would give it to her out of good will us beeks gotta stick together.

 

I agree with snl.

 

Here's another thing to consider.

She's the Co-Founder of a local bee organization, and promoting Urban beekeeping. I put the word out to the group to let the person know not to worry that the swarm might show up on the local news, after having landed in the local elementary school playground or something. If I lost a swarm, I would also like to hear from area beekeepers if someone got it, so that I too could rest easy.

As Urban beekeepers, our number one priority has to be swarm prevention, or the effort to minimize fear in the public. The head of this project just automatically expecting this seems like a bad precedent.

If I give it back, people in the group are not going to report catching swarms. Who wants to go through the trouble of swarm trapping, just so the person who is not on the case with swarm prevention can come an pick them up?

 

New beekeeper.........co-founder of a local bee organization.......

In the south we call that, "All hat, no cowboy."

 

That's exactly what I was thinking. Some know nothing yuppie who's "saving the bees!"...

Not sure about the laws up there, but my understanding for down here in the states is that the only way to can claim a swarm as yours which was thrown off of your hive and landed on someone elses property is to physically track them. So if I didn't notice my hive swarmed and it landed in the neighbors yard, if they so chose to keep it, they could; or whoever might be called in to capture them could.

Ignorance is not always bliss.

Could always charge her your hourly rate and cost of transportation to return them. That capturing service for rogue yuppie hives gone unnoticed is worth something.

 

Help out a new beek if you can...although you do look mean in your profile pic ...haha...the best thing for her is to give them back...the best thing for you is what you decide to do....I have enough things keeping me awake at night...let us know if you give them back.....ps love your t shirt designs....

 

Or...tell her ''it's called beekeeping and I'm keeping them''

 

Just because her hive swarmed it does not mean she is now beeless. I see post and emails from newbies all the time saying their hive had swarmed and now they are looking to buy a nuc. Just because you caught a swarm it does not mean it was her swarm unless it was just a couple hundred feet from her yard. I would be hard pressed to give a swarm to someone after I had went through all the trouble of going to pick one up. I would be happy to help out a friend by going to their house and reboxing a swarm if they could not get to it.

If it is going to cause ill feelings in your local bee community I might go ahead and give it back. You are going to have to weight out the pros and cons.

 

I lost one last week and it was heading North. It may have been mine now that you mention it. Was the queen marked with a yellow spot?

 

There is no way to keep the bees and come out ahead if you want to stay on the good side of the club. I've read hundreds of your posts Adam and feel like you are a straight shooter. Your honesty puts you in a quandary.

Stating the obvious here, but there seems to be two faulty premises in the reasoning in your club. First, that the collective announcement of a swarm catch will really do anything (positive) for the beekeeping community -I doubt it will do anything more than create friction between your newly founded club members. Announcing a swarm issue may be another thing. Second faulty premise: It is in fact her swarm, unless the queen is marked with a numbered tag.

I doubt you will be posting future swarm catches, and that would be the smart thing in my view. If you must announce the swarm catch, waiting a week to announce the swarm might be a good thing

I would do what the others have recommended, and give her the swarm. Not because it might be her swarm, but because you want to keep the peace.

 

Okay, she lost a swarm...everyone does, even experienced beekeepers. Tough cookies. If my swarm entered a hollow tree, do I have the right to ask the homeowner to cut down the tree? Losing swarms made me a better beekeeper.

Now she wants it back because she's "a beginner?" She's playing the victim card. So does she want to re-combine the swarm with the original hive or make a second colony? She should still have a viable colony with her original hive, and a brand new queen...if she gets on the stick and cuts out all but one swarm cell. Does she know how to do this? Does she know what to do with a returning swarm?

Plus, she probably wasn't going to make any honey the first year, anyway. She can still build up her colony for next year so she hasn't really lost anything. And 1.5 km is almost one mile away...I doubt your caught bees came from her swarm. I can't off-hand quote Seeley's work, but it's a stretch to think those were her bees (and you can't prove it, anyway).

However, if this were me, I'd take the upper path, be a professional, help her know what her options are, and return the swarm...maybe even install it in her old hive for her, which means you have to deal with queen cells or the old queen. There's more goodwill to be gained in giving back the swarm.

There will be other swarms to catch...probably from her hives. It's called Karma and being greedy with this one swarm will likely bite you in the butt sooner rather than later. Returning this swarm may result in a couple of different swarms in the future. Just keep your mouth shut next time.

Grant
Jackson, MO
I'm hot on swarm trapping https://www.createspace.com/4106626

 

If you give it up, the future expectations may then well be that everyone will expect any of their lost swarms be returned to them. Not good.

Unless a swarm is followed from its originating hive, to be captured, it is a lost swarm. The keeper receiving it is the new owner. Beginners should be given the same consideration as any other beekeeper, and we other beekeepers either increase our colonies by splits, cutouts, captured swarms or we buy more bees from others who are selling them. When I have a colony that swarms, and the swarm leaves, for me it's an immediate understandable loss, but it is a loss to me.

I think all beekeepers, especially beginners, should learn this. It sounds more dangerous that hard feelings would be generated by returning the bees in this situation. If the person who lost the swarm, needs more bees, she should probably have learned how to split the hive, it likely would not have then swarmed and the bees would still be hers.

 

If you want to keep the piece then also offer to look through her hives for any more queen cells. And you never know; this may be the start of a nice "first date".

 

How far from this person's hive was the Elementary School? If she is further than a few hundred yard away then it probably is not from her colony.

If she is the Co-Founder of an organization promoting "Urban Beekeeping", the first thing she should have mastered is preventing swarms. If she is expecting someone to "return her swarm" it seems to confirm that she is still on the steep side of the beekeeping learning curve and has a long way to go.

I know it may sound harsh or calloused but I would stand my ground and keep the swarm. With some well written responses to everyone in the group as to why you made that decision you could turn this into an educational teaching opportunity. There are probably cons either way, but I think keeping it would be the most logical, positive decision with the best long term outcome.

If you had a swarm trap hanging next door she may have an argument, but not in this case.

 

If you had a swarm trap hanging next door she may have an argument, but not in this case.

There's no argument if my colony swarms and enters your trap on your property. Traps don't cause swarming, only reveal my inability to manage my colony.

You're opportunisitic and proactive. No sense in punishing you.

Grant
Jackson, MO

 

> In the south we call that, "All hat, no cowboy."

I thought it was, "All hat, no cattle!" :lookout:

I agree with Nabber86.

 

> In the south we call that, "All hat, no cowboy."

I thought it was, "All hat, no cattle!" :lookout:

I think you're right! LOL

 

If you want to stay on good terms with the people in that group you could offer her the swarm if she comes to you're house with equipment in the next week to get it.

 

For every beek who enjoys trapping a swarm or 10 each season, there are an equal number of beeks bemoaning how they lost one. Dealing with swarming is a normal part of keeping bees. If you want the swarm, keep it just like you would with any other swarm. If you don't want the swarm, give it away. Offer it to the members of your group. Offer it to total strangers. Do whatever you want with it because unless she personally tracked it from her door to yours while it was happening, that swarm is YOURS. Do not be bullied or guilted into giving up your own right to collect swarms. When you collect one you are doing a public service, after all.

What you can do is offer to teach/help/advise Ms. Beginner on some swarm prevention techniques or offer a bit of mentoring on increasing, etc. Just don't get suckered into doing all the work! Offer advice only. And part of that should include the lesson that swarms lost are just that--gone, baby, gone. Period.

JMO

Rusty

 

We all learned this in first grade, Finders keepers loser's weepers.:lookout:

 

Today, she wrote to the group saying she did lose a swarm and expecting that I give it back to her, because it's her only one hive and she's a beginner.

She's got a hive. If she want's another one, she can catch, split, or buy one like everybody else. Swarms are public property.

 

If someone is that easy to get on the wrong side of, might as well get it over with and offend them now. You will sooner or later anyway.