A couple days ago one of our largest hives swarmed into a tree behind the beeyard. The swarm was way up high in the tree and we couldn't get to it. Harold used a rifle to shoot the branch down and was hoping the bees would go into a swarm box he had ready. The bees did not go there, but instead went into a branch even higher up the tree. Today the swarm was still there, so Harold shot the branch down again with a rifle. This time the bees went back into the original hive.
Later this afternoon, the swarm decided to go out of the hive and gather on a small cherry tree sapling in front of the beeyard! Now we could catch them! These bees really wanted to go someplace new! We managed to gather the bees, and take them to a friend's farm about 10 miles away. Now they should be happy because they feel they have truly swarmed into a "new place". Whenever we gather a swarm we take them to our friend Joe's farm. They live there until honey harvest time. In exchange for allowing us to bring swarms to his place, we give Joe all the honey he wants.
Here is the process this afternoon in photos. We were glad not to lose the hive because at $170 a hive we sure don't want to lose it!
 |
| This is the swarm covering the small cherry sapling. Almost looks like a brown cactus, doesn't it? |
 |
| Harold set a swarm gathering box on a bucket and aimed the entrance hole near the swarm in the hopes they would explore it and go in. Yes - it worked! |
 |
| Harold watched as they slowly went into the swarm box. |
 |
| Harold used a bee brush to clear the entrance hole occasionally so that it wouldn't get too clogged with bees trying to get in. |
 |
| Almost all of the swarm is in the swarm box now! |
 |
| Almost done! Just about a cup or so of bees left! |
 |
| Over at Joe's farm Harold uses pliers to lift the frame of bees into a new hive box. |
 |
| Harold accidentally dropped the pliers into the swarm box, so he just lifted the frames of bees with his bare hands! |
 |
| There were some loose bees in the swarm box and Harold just shook them into the new hive. |
 |
| He set a hive cover over the frames. We also put a feeder in there with some sugar solution to help them get started in their new home. |
 |
| The new hive is complete. A few straggler bees are making their way into their new home. |
 |
| Back at our place, the cherry tree is empty now of bees! Success at catching this swarm after 3 days!! |
We will check on the bees at Joe's place at least once a week. They should do fine there, and now they will feel that they have totally swarmed and found a new place. Why bees swarm is a mystery. It's just what bees do.
There's an old saying about swarms that goes like this:
A swarm in May is worth a load of hay
A swarm in June is worth a silver spoon
A swarm in July isn't worth a fly
At least we are back to having 10 hives now at our place, plus this one at Joe's!
Never a dull moment here on Honey B Farm!
2 comments:
Wouldn't it be the pits if you had to pick them out of the swarm individually? Wow. Must have something to do with the Queen bee? Difficult to figure out the female of any and every specie. ;-)
You know, that swarm looks like an AZ cactus. How are they coming along? The bees that is.
Post a Comment