[n1st]

My hive looks like it's preparing to swarm. I have a horizontal limb near the hive I'd like them to cluster. Would putting some honey, or honey-B-healthy on the limb attract them?

 

[concrete-bees]

if you can get your bees to do that - you are a winner im my book

but truely the only thing you will attract on the limb is forager bees and wasp

you can try lemon Grass Oil - ive done that before - and they will take intrest in it but only once they are air borne

and at that point you might as well just have a set and watch the show - catch them when you see them land


Honey b healthy is a feeding stimulant not a swarm catcher
honey is food not a swarm catcher --- the bees are packed with honey before they swarm - i dought they want more

anyhow - if your hive is going to swarm - id be thinking of ways to provent it rather then how to cope with it -

best of luck

 

[tnmx]

I have seen people use a drop or two of lemon grass oil. To be safe, if you know they are going to swarm then make a split. Take the new queen to a new hive with half the goodies and let the old hive raise a new queen.

 

[woollybee]

Judging from what I've recently experienced, even if they do land on your branch you might have to be pretty quick to catch them. I saw three swarms leave my hive this last week on three consecutive days, and they all settled on a tree about 10 feet from the hive, but only for about an hour, maybe to check if they had the queen with them, and then they were gone.

 

[KQ6AR]

I agree with removing the queen, some frames of brood & bees, & make a split.
Otherwise there is a very good chance you will loose her, & 1/2 you're bees. Also almost a month without eggs being laid can really set you're hive back for the season.

 

[n1st]

All,

Thanks for the advice. I have better success at catching swarms than queens, so I'll let them swarm and do my best.

 

[MJC417]

I put a nuc box that I built in a tree about 10 feet and placed two pierco frames and a few drops of LGO on a paper towel in ziplock bag with a few holes poked in it. As some else on this forum suggested and I caught a swarm shortly after I put it in the tree! The pierco frames were the only frames I had and they built on them quickly. The nuc was only about 30 feet or so away from the parent hive. After a few days I took the nuc down and hived the swarm and they are doing great. I'm no expert, only been at it a few years but it worked for me until my swarm control skills get up to par. For now on in early Spring I will always have a couple swarm boxes in the trees! Good Luck! Mike

 

[plaztikjezuz]

All,

Thanks for the advice. I have better success at catching swarms than queens, so I'll let them swarm and do my best.

make an artificial swarm by shaking them down to a new hive.
cool video. he does the shake down about half way through.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QakhMSz5cxU

 

[concrete-bees]

im a little confused ???

you want to use honey or HBH for baiting a swarm to a branch - but then say that you are better at catching swarms then queens ???

how hard is it to move a frame of bees and a queen from one box to another ??? add a few frames of brood, pollen, and honey and walk way???

but yet then you say that you want to catch a swarm on a branch of your choice

seems you are really green and not yet ready to take advice

 

[Barry]

if your hive is going to swarm - id be thinking of ways to provent it rather then how to cope with it -

My experience has shown that if the hive is going to swarm, no amount of "preventing" it will work. You might win the battle, but you'll lose the war. If you are able to keep them, they will be so demoralized that they won't amount to much the rest of the season. Better to let them swarm and catch it. I caught many of my own swarms over the years.

 

[concrete-bees]

ive caught lots of swarms - only one was mine - not saying its not hard work but spilting a hive and having control over the bees is better then letting the bees control me -

i just thought that we were keeping bee and not letting the bees keep us

but Barry, have you ever picked a branch for a swarm to land on ??? im mean really ?? -

 

[honeybeekeeper]

If you can pick a branch and them bees go right to it then they need to be in a circus somewhere im tellin ya!!! I would really like to see this on video! :lpf:

 

[Barry]

but Barry, have you ever picked a branch for a swarm to land on ??? im mean really ?? -

No, was never able to do that!!

 

[concrete-bees]

oh good thing !!!! thought id missed out on something

i think that video is on the same shelf as UFO's and Bigfoot !!!! haha

but like i said in my first post - try lemongrass oil and or queen scent pheromone -

even make a few bait boxes - but not smearing honey on a branch
and like i said , reason is that they ate 4-5 times the normal amount before leaving the hive - thats like eating 4 Thanksgiving dinners and then stopping off at KFC for a bucket of chicken !!!!! just not a wise idea

swarms are after one thing and one thing only --- A HOME not a branch-

anyhow - enough arguing - have a great night

ps if you do get them trained to land on a branch - stop my Concrete Washington .......been a while since the circus came through!!!!!