Also need help catching an awkward swarm.

[asol]

My bees have swarmed and are on the ground amongst thick brambles.

Ive got a carboard box and a 5 frame nuc near the bees, both have attractant wipe.

As I try to brush or smoke them into the box they just seem to fall lower and lower through the stems and leaves of the bramble. I've tried cutting individual stems with a sub group of bees attached but they soon leave the box.

The brambles dont give me a good hard surface to brush against.

Help.
Newbie beekeeper.

 

[asol]

In fact will add that since the neighbours are not too happy I probably need to get rid as they are on my back garden so anyone in the Cannock area want to catch a swarm and keep the rewards?

 

[asol]

I tried to send a picture to assist but failed. Not a good day!!

 

[Hawklord]

Did they swarm from your hive? Perhaps you could use a frame of open brood from your hive?

 

[asol]

Yes, it was my hive.
Resorted to cutting down stems and grasping as many bees as possible and putting them in the box. After about 1 hour of this I saw the queen and managed to trap her in a plastic cage. I've now put that in the box and hopefully after a while the rest of the bees will follow.
Not sure if the neighbour will be so easy though!!

 

[theboynelson]

Yes, it was my hive.
Resorted to cutting down stems and grasping as many bees as possible and putting them in the box. After about 1 hour of this I saw the queen and managed to trap her in a plastic cage. I've now put that in the box and hopefully after a while the rest of the bees will follow.
Not sure if the neighbour will be so easy though!!

It's horrible when that happens, I used to work for the National Trust and I had a colony swarm right over where they have the disability bus for less mobile visitors. Thy were hungry and cranky, be thankful that your bees didn't sting all and sundry around them as mine did. By the end of the day I had to write out 17 separate accident forms about people getting stung as they were having their cream teas.

Watch out for any casts tat may swarm in the next wee while.

 

[beeno]

Yes, it was my hive.
Resorted to cutting down stems and grasping as many bees as possible and putting them in the box. After about 1 hour of this I saw the queen and managed to trap her in a plastic cage. I've now put that in the box and hopefully after a while the rest of the bees will follow.
Not sure if the neighbour will be so easy though!!

Result!

 

[beeno]

It's horrible when that happens, I used to work for the National Trust and I had a colony swarm right over where they have the disability bus for less mobile visitors. Thy were hungry and cranky, be thankful that your bees didn't sting all and sundry around them as mine did. By the end of the day I had to write out 17 separate accident forms about people getting stung as they were having their cream teas.

Watch out for any casts tat may swarm in the next wee while.

Hi asol and theboynelson,
If that was the prime swarm with the original queen then text book the first cast 7 days time unless prime swarm held back due to bad weather. Yday was good weather here. Therefore inspection needed to leave one or two QCs. The choice is yours!

 

[asol]

You have changed my mood theboynelson, I've just got in after 5 1/2 hours of sorting this one out and really it could have been a lot worse.

On the whole it seems a success. I'd already split my only hive last Monday as it seemed very crowded and I'd seen charged QC (at the top of the frame though, not classic swarm cells) . It obviously wasn't enough to curtail the swarm instinct.
I inspected the hive yesterday to find queen cups at the top of the frame so I guessed something wasn't right but I thought this to mean supersedure. This is only her 2nd year and she lays like Billio so I couldn't understand. Rightly or wrongly I crushed all of them.

The nuc which was formed from the split last Monday has a sealed swarm cell.

So this afternoon I had a box with swarm, a nuc with a sealed swarm cell and the original departed hive with no charged QC, also a lack of space (can only really cope with 2 hives).
Not sure if I've done right but I've combined the nuc with the original departed hive in the hope the swarm cell will turn into a queen and hived the swarm on another spot in the garden.

 

[psafloyd]

This is only her 2nd year and she lays like Billio so I couldn't understand. Rightly or wrongly I crushed all of them.

Crushing swarm cells does not prevent the swarming instinct. They'll still go if they want to.