Honey bee swarm capture

These bees swarmed from a friend's hive. I have a new hive that needed bees. I was trying to move them gently using a bee pick, but that didn't work very well. I should have just given the branch a good shake in the usual way.

I think I could have left the box on top of the ladder, with the lid on and just waited for the bees to go in, but I wasn't sure I had the queen. I did get her, as it turns out.

http://kittbo.blogspot.com/search/label/Bees

Category:

Pets & Animals

Tags:

• bees
• swarm
• capturing
• capture
• honeybees
• honey
• hive
• swarming
• beekeeping
• beekeeper
• beehive

[mugsyjeff]

What you could consider doing is placing a frame of brood that needs nursing in the box & hold it against the swarm, the bees will move onto the frame, most likely the queen also, shake the rest in, put the lid on & place it on the ground or on a stool, the rest of the bees will go into the entrance, if the queen's inside. You can take it away just on dark. It's spring here now, I've been getting calls every day with swarms. I'm just busy preventing my own from swarming.

[markarthu]

Winning them over with boughs of lavender is classy. The hive dropping was like a bomb going off. I appreciate the "getting out of there" scenes.

[honeeproducer34]

This poor beginner needs a mentor BAD...lol...I kept saying out loud, "Just shake it!!!" Your not going to break them..They have exoskeletons...

[jeffmcmullan]

the brand new white bee suit is a dead giveaway...

[beekanzi]

finally the branch got shaken. that's standard practice.

before that, the routine with plexiglass was very odd.

by the way, once they are shaken into a container and queen is with them they stay there for a while.

[Tickets825]

Nice