[Gilligan]

Besides obviously building comb blah blah blah.

Are there any signs that they like their new digs right away?

I went and grabbed a swarm today (went like text book), I placed it in a 8 medium with my vacuum's bottom (2.5" circle entrance and easy to seal) then placed a 8 medium with frames (foundationless) on top with my feeder cover on top (just a piece of plywood with a 2" hole cut in it for my bunt cake style feeder to fit in) all sealed up. Boom, placed it in, ratchet strapped it closed and left.

Got home and placed the feeder on top (they can't get out/in when it's on) but I didn't have a way to cover it up so I didn't put any syrup in it, just wanted to set it up. Opened the entrance up and a few flew around and checked things out.

My other hive is 3' away and solid.

So I got home just now 8pm and I went out to put in the syrup and put a cover over it all to prevent the desire for robbing from their neighbors. I saw a few bees on top of the frames, but nothing like when I hived up my original hive (but it was probably a 1.5 lbs vs 4-5 lbs that I had from before.

At this point I jammed my phone in as much as I could and shot some video. I noticed they were in the corner clustered up like a swarm. I went and grabbed my Flip camera and jammed it in there. I could see that they were all the way up the corner but still just up against the corner, balled up around the queen no doubt.

Now, I don't know what a swarm does when they first move in but I was assuming they would be hanging in the middle and starting to festoon to build comb. Are they possibly sitting around waiting to head out and not stay?

 

[Gilligan]

Also there were a few dead bees out side of the new hive (I put it there about 3pm), has their already been some feuding going on with the neighbors?

 

[D Semple]

Hard telling, but pretty normal looking.

They need to be left alone, or they are liable to take off on you, BUT you have got to get that empty box off the bottom our you are going to have a mess. I would pull it right at dusk tomorrow night, setting them up over a new bottom board and box of frames, in the same location as they are now.

Vacuuming swarms is like fishing for trout with worms.

Don

 

[Saltybee]

Just house cleaning. Rolling around wrestling and then dead bees is fighting. Keep the entrance small for a bit. With a flow on robbing is not likely yet. Locals can tell you when that starts.
Oh, and congrats.

 

[Gilligan]

No vacuuming this time... Just convenient as a bottom I can seal easily.

I just clipped two twigs hanging out the bottom, then clipped the branch and lowered it in the box. Not a single bee dropped off the ball.

Didn't even put on a hat (though I would have if I had thought about it), just sunglasses.

 

[Hambone]

Hard telling, but pretty normal looking.

They need to be left alone, or they are liable to take off on you, BUT you have got to get that empty box off the bottom our you are going to have a mess.

^this

You could also add a frame of brood from your other hive.

 

[Gilligan]

^this

You could also add a frame of brood from your other hive.

I was wondering about that, the other hive is doing pretty good. Figured if I give them uncapped brood then I'd really not be setting them back any. I'm just wanting to get those new bees out in that other hive as soon as possible.

But now isn't getting the bottom box off and putting in a frame of brood the opposite of leaving them alone?

Do I need to try and get every bee off of that frame before I put it in the other hive?

 

[Hambone]

Do it at dusk and you'll be fine. If you add the brood and put some 1:1 feed on them it's almost a guarantee they will stay.

What I do is cut up queen excluders and staple them to the entrance once I get a swarm. I get them to their location add 1:1 feed and leave the excluder on for 10 days. I haven't lost a swarm yet doing it this way.

 

[Saltybee]

Hambone, you could title that photo; "and the bees come marching in". Nice shot of excluder section.

You do not need to remove bees (except the queen) before moving them around. Read that battles can happen, never seen it.
Easy to brush or shake off most to not get queen.

 

[Gilligan]

Cool, I put some 2:1 (little more water than that) with a crushed vitamin C pill for PH purposes on them last night. Dripped a little bit down on the frame where a couple of bees were hanging out and they quickly started taking that up. I'm about to go pull the top of the feeder to see if they are loving it or not.

Only concern I have with doing it at dusk is in my pictures it looks like the queen could be on that empty box. I'd hate to have her get lost in the shuffle. I had to pull the vac box off the last hive and we just did it quickly during they day (needed it for the vacuum to go catch a swarm with a buddy) and there were minimal bees in it. They were already up high in the box, but I was 3 high at that point. This one I'm starting off smaller due to the smaller swarm. (I'll attach picture with my phone after I post)

I think it was a little smaller when I got it, home owner sent these pics to me. After I was done there was about 50 bees all circling around looking for the now missing swarm. Guess there was a lot of scouting going on.

 

[jonathan]

Do it at dusk and you'll be fine. If you add the brood and put some 1:1 feed on them it's almost a guarantee they will stay.

What I do is cut up queen excluders and staple them to the entrance once I get a swarm. I get them to their location add 1:1 feed and leave the excluder on for 10 days. I haven't lost a swarm yet doing it this way.

Just be careful you don't have a swarm with a virgin queen as she needs to be able to fly and mate.

 

[Gilligan]

Just be careful you don't have a swarm with a virgin queen as she needs to be able to fly and mate.

And I think I do.

But I'm just reducing the entrance with a bit of coroplast stapled on right now.

They were taking up the syrup and coming and going nicely... the syrup might have done the trick.

I will peak in tonight to see how they are clustering.

 

[JakeDatc]

Did you get rid of that bottom empty box? so they'll draw out the frames and not build off the bottom.

 

[Gilligan]

Did you get rid of that bottom empty box? so they'll draw out the frames and not build off the bottom.

Not yet... Didn't want to stick my eye in the entrance while everything was going on.

I didn't suit up or anything, was just popping the top on the feeder to see how they were doing there and looked at the activity at the entrance.

I don't think we have a flow going and I cut the other hive off from it's syrup so I have some concerns they may want to rob.

I didn't see any tussling but it did look like guard bees were inspecting the bees coming in and some where able to fly right into that 2.5" hole, so I felt I should reduce it down for now. Didn't think that hole was that big till I really watched the activity. My other hive was a lone hive and was VERY strong at probably 4-5 lbs after I captured them. So they have always stuffed every entrance they have had full of bees when they wanted. I didn't see how any were getting out and in sometimes!

This is a whole new experience for me.

Looks like they are doing well.

They come from a VERY old feral hive (she said they have been there 14 years!). So I'm hoping they are gentle and healthy and that will give me a nice genetic blend if my drones are out and ready to mate. I certainly had enough of them when I captured that first colony. Assuming she's a virgin. Even if not that will be even better as that will give me drones from the new hive when it's time for the old one to make a queen and I'll probably be splitting that hive soon enough as strong as it is. Just want to make it past this brood break from capturing them. I am about a week away from having new bees hatching!!

 

[JakeDatc]

i'd set the box with frames onto a normal bottom board fairly soon. they just build off the bottom of the frames into the empty box and make a bit of a mess.

can put that empty box back on top to cover up the feeder so it is protected inside the hive

 

[Gilligan]

That's a plan!

Of course it just came through with this crazy hail storm and dropped 10 degrees in 3 mins. Things are drying off nicely but I'm certainly apprehensive of going in there after the last time I went in after a rain in the morning.

Right now I have an empty body on that feeder. Problem is I'm using my other bottom as a top. LOL Guess I need to get to building and stop collecting bees!