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Got my first swarm!!! Thanks BoilerJim!

2K views 24 replies 8 participants last post by  blueblood 
#1 ·
Talked to BoilerJim today, he got a call on a swarm. He was nice enough to pass it my way. It was in a guys garage in a 14"X14" storage cubby. It was the size of a basketball. It was really cool to walk up to it and watch. Very quiet, slow moving. Well, I brought one of my nuks with frames. Pulled a few out and was able to fit it in the cubby and started to sweep them in the box. I have to say that was a little nerve racking. They started to get aggressive and when I squished a few they started to sting my gloves. One popped me in the ear. Called BoilerJim and asked a few question. Great guy! Very helpful. Once the crazed mass of bees started to settle it was neat to see them start to move to the hive box and fan. I loaded them up and took them to their new home. For now will leave them in the nuk. Tomorrow will be out after work to get sugar water going for them.

Thanks BoilerJim for passing the swarm on to me and giving me some pointers.
 
#2 ·
What a great adrenaline rush. It’s a great big step forward in a wonderful hobby. I'm really glad you had successful swarm retrieval. Like they say......You always will remember your first! :thumbsup:
 
#5 ·
Went to check on hive today. Did not open but just observed. Today was in the 90's and the bee's were gathering and hanging off the face of the nuc their in. Hot part of the day they are in shade. With new foundation how long should I leave them in there? This is a good size colony. Tomorrow will be 98. EEEK!
 
#6 ·
you need to get them in full sized 10 frame brood chamber as the heat demands that they be able to spread out a bit and not be forced to cluster or beard out, there should be room inside the hive for all the bees to be comfortable, once they have turned on thier air-conditioning system. Good luck with your swarm, treat them right...
Barry
 
#9 ·
My goal is to get them in a 10 frame hive tomorrow. Thought I had more time! Friday when I went to pick my bees up they were out of screen bottom boards, inner covers and outer. Sooooo, will be heading out after church to buy material and get building.
 
#10 ·
I have a hard time concentrating on the service when I have a project like that on my mind....like joe joe the circus monkey....it is very similar to when my mom had us at church the night before Christmas morning....ha!

I have a simple screened board plan I have stored away in my brain matter that I have to transfer to paper if your interested. And, If I may mention, I didn't have an inner cover for the last swarm I caught...I just used simple vent super between the top of the deep and the bottom of the telescoping cover. Did some research and discovered many keeps don't use them. However, I will be using them. I eventually replaced that hive with one. And, if you don't have time to wrap that aluminum flashing on the telescoping lid, you could always make a simple migratory cover for now so you don't spend your whole day in the workshop and short on time transferring bees over.
 
#11 ·
Got all my material. I was able to buy the tin when I was getting my bees so that is covered. Hoping to knock this out in good time. Going to be 98 today. So, fan and cold beverage close by. Oh, and rock oldies playing.
 
#12 ·
Built everything last night. Primed. Was getting ready to paint and all I had was trim paint from my shed that I paid $50! Decided to check Ace Hardware down the road. Was thinking back and I believe it was blueblood (if I'm wrong I'm sorry) had painted some of his hives a more cheerful color. So I was going with a yellow. Got there and asked if they had any goof-ups. They just mixed one and it was a tent of yellow! 1 gal reg. price $27 got it for $5. Win, win! So, they are all painted and will transfer my swarm today. Taking my son to take pictures. I take good pics it just getting me to do it is the problem. Will post pics today. Happy Memorial Day!
 
#15 ·
Changed out the swarm to a 10 frame today. They were plum full! Were making comb,had pollen stores and uncapped honey. Brought my son to take pics. Plant Green Wood Grass Woody plant
Shorts Plant Bermuda shorts Grass People in nature
Plant Grass Terrestrial plant Wood Groundcover
Plant Green Leaf Natural environment Wood
Head Outerwear Plant Sleeve People in nature
Beekeeper Apiary Pollinator Grass Safety glove
Clothing Beekeeper Beehive Apiary Pollinator
Beekeeper Beehive Apiary Pollinator Insect
Beekeeper Beehive Apiary Honeycomb Pollinator
Pollinator Beehive Insect Plant Apiary
 

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#23 ·
Checked on them today. Did not open them up. They were very busy!Lots of bees taking flight and coming in. This swarm is more active than my nuc bees. Weird thing though. I moved the bees about 20 ft. more in a sunny area. Today there were bees still buzzu=ing around where the box was at! Like the were scratching their head wondering where there house go.
 
#24 ·
...I moved the bees about 20 ft. more in a sunny area. Today there were bees still buzzu=ing around where the box was at! Like the were scratching their head wondering where there house go.
twenty feet is a big one step move for a hive, You should keep such a move to four or five smaller moves of about 4-5 feet each time over several days. The bees work on "autopilot" and once they have programmed for a spot, that's where they go. If the hive is missing, they'l look around within a short range :doh: and, when it's found, they'll "reprogram their computers". :aikido:
Make too big a jump and they'll get totally confounded. If there are other hives in closer range they might move in on them.
 
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