How to Catch a Swarm of Bees

http://www.biobees.com
How to catch a bee swarm using a basket. This method is simple and effective, making it very easy to place the bees into a top bar hive after a few days building comb in the basket. This is very similar to hives used by the ancient Greeks.

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• bees
• swarm
• beekeeping
• beehive
• bee hive
• bee skep
• natural beekeeping
• top bar hive

[karineveningrain]

Love your book! I wish it was the first book I read on keeping hives. I would never have purchased langstroth but would have built your tbh instead. We are now replacing the langstroths with your tbh design. QUESTION: i heard that you can move an existing hive EITHER a few feet OR a few miles. How does this work with swarms? How about a trap that has been filled for a few weeks and has brood? Can that trap be moved within a few hundred feet? Thanks

[biobee]

@karineveningrain Glad you are moving in this direction. 2 ft/ 2 miles is the most-quoted version, and applies to any established colony. A newly-caught swarm can be located anywhere suitable, but preferably at least 1 mile from where it was caught, or it may abscond. If you only move a colony a few hundred feet, the flying bees will return to the original location. Move them 3 miles away for a week or two, then move them back to the new location.

[greengourmand]

@biobee I've heard some folks say that if you are moving a swarm < 2 mi. away, you can keep them from absconding by using a queen excluder on their entrance for the first week or so. Then the colony will stay with their queen until they've orientated to their new location. Do have any experience with/thoughts on this?

[biobee]

@greengourmand Yes, you can certainly do that, although I have never yet had a swarm abscond once they were settled.

[stonewow101]

i still think this is a horrible way to keep bees now, im going to try the longstroth hive style ty thou for the video

[biobee]

@stonewow101 Horrible? How? And what does the rest of your comment mean, in English?

[BrooklynBeeTzar]

Wow, great method! Nice size swarms too!

[biobee]

@coinageboy They rarely sting anyone when they are swarming - too busy looking for a new home. I rarely use gloves anyway - bees in top bar hives are generally easier to handle than in a framed hive in my experience.

[beesontoastful]

@dyna14 So what do you want, a medal? This video was made for beginners, and I felt it was appropriate to encourage reasonable caution. I often don't wear a suit or veil when inspecting my calmer colonies, especially those in top bar hives, but I always advise beginners to suit up until they are confident enough to handle bees with minimal protection.

[beesontoastful]

@docbaza A water spray works well - I use one instead of smoke for inspecting my bees.