Preparing for Swarm Season in the Spring
Swarms are nature's way of increasing the honeybee's numbers and replenishing the bee population that died off. About a quarter to half the hive leaves, and establishes itself elsewhere.
As beekeepers, we want to prevent swarming in our own hives and catch swarms from other hives. Effectively, any swarm we catch is worth the same as a package of new bees. Catching swarms can be tricky, you need to be prepared for the season. Here is my advice for swarm catching:
Prepare a dozen swarm traps during winter. Have locations in your mind where you want to hang these. Make sure to order your Lemon Grass Oil for baiting the hives.
Contact your local fire department in early Spring and volunteer for swarm removal
Contact your local Agriculture agency that you do swarm removals
Post on Craigslist that you remove swarms for free or up to about $50 depending on supply and demand in your area.
Have hive bodies ready to go for swarm season, when it hits you could get 5 swarms in 5 days. Carry an extra body in the trunk of your car, you will need it.
Swarm removal is fairly easy. You need a few things:
Beesuit - Don't believe that swarms are passive and gentle and you can remove them without a veil and suit. The first swarm you run into that was caught in a few days of bad weather will teach you the meaning of pain when they open up a can of whoop-ass on your unprotected arms, face, and torso. Treat them like a happy drunk with a gun, gentle and usually harmless.
Brush, Smoker, fuel, lighter - Normal gear.
Blanket - Sometime you need to shake them off a branch and over tall grass. It is far better to put down a blanket, as they get lost in grass easily.
Hive body, maybe two, bottom, lid and frames - gotta put them in something.
Squirt bottle of sugar syrup - bees don't fly much when wet
Strap and rags- Strap to keep the hive parts together during transport, rag to block the entrance.
Bee Vac (optional) - For those I-gotta-do-this-fast days.
How to Capture a Swarm
Swarm capture can be fairly simple. It normally involves finding the swarm on a tree branch, squirting them with a little sugar water, then placing a hive body underneath it then striking/shaking the branch to dislodge the bees in one sharp shake. The bees fall in the hive box, some take to flight, but usually the queen falls in and the rest follow in a few hours. When most are in the hive, put the lid on and wait for dusk. At dusk, when the remainder of foragers go into the hive, you seal it up with rags and take it home.
Sometimes the bees don't co-operate. If they are on a non-shakable object, like a car mirror, under a trailer, or bumper of a police car; you have to have a box (sometimes so low to the ground a hive won't fit) under them and brush the cluster into the box. Sometimes, you have to brush and go and hope you have the queen. Personally, I hate having to wait for dusk, so I often brush and go. It is not a good practice, but when you take time off from work...
For high swarms, don't get hurt. Bring a hive box, with a solid bottom board, put the hive together, put 5 drops of Lemon Grass Oil in it and leave it. Often, the bees will identify it as a superior location and move in. Or you could do the tall ladder/acrobatics/death defying removal, me, i'll pass on that. Why put out so much effort when you could have them catch themselves?
When you get a swarm call, you need to go, and go NOW. Swarms can be gone before you get there, or just after you arrive. Don't wait until tomorrow. Respond quickly. I tell folks that bees will stay on a tree for 12-72 hours, with 2 days being average.
Swarm Trapping and Bait Hives
I love swarm trapping. It is fun, simple, easy, and reminds me of fishing.
All you need to do, is build a box that takes 6-10 frames, contains about 40 liters (10 gal.) in volume and has a single entrance hole of 15 cm^2 (1-2 inches). This box could double as a nuc, later in the year. Once built, the box is baited with a drop or two of lemon grass oil and about 8 drops on a napkin sealed in a zip lock bag. This holds the smell in for many months. The smell is needed to attract scout bees, who are biased towards lemon scent due to it's similarity to the 'come here' navasov pheromone.
Don't use the paper conical style swarm traps. They cost >$20 after shipping and they are terrible if you don't get the swarm out quickly. Swarms are comb building monsters, once they start they will build comb fast. You often have to cutout comb from the conical style traps.
McCartney Taylor is a beekeeper, swarm trapper, and queen breeder in Austin, Texas. He is trying to train all beekeepers on the art of trapping bee swarms. And a website for beginners to learn the ancient craft of beekeeping.
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