Chasing bees

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biggles

House Bee
Joined
May 7, 2010
Messages
336
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Location
Tunbridge wells Kent uk
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
loads
I seem to have had a couple of days chasing bees. First off I had a small swarm fly from one of my colonys that I was just about to check (a day late).
I flew off over the hedge into a field that I couldn't get into. The next day a call from a house up the road saying she had bees. So off I go and sure enough bees all over the place.

Mean while a friend who has bees in his house (Been there 15yrs and swarms into my bait hives twice a year) calls me saying my bait hive is full. I say I will collect tomorrow.
Back to the house with bees, they seem to be every where, not in a ball or going in and out of an entrance etc. I go home collect a bait hive and a frame of brood, mainly drones to try and get them to settle. I leave them there.

The next day I get an early call from my friend, says he woke up with a swarm in his bed room. He managed to get them out but my bait hive was empty. Then a call from a lady in a house a few doors up from my other bait hive. The bees are now in her chimney. I go and have a look but can only see 3 bees. I remove the two from her living room and see one out side, so I tell her to call me if she sees any more and off I go to see whats happened at my friends house.
The bees from his bed room have gone into a hole in the fascia board. So after an hour and some damage to his house, I have them back in the hive. I them go back the the other bait hive, empty. The lady up the road sees me and waves for me. When I get there she says she saw one more bee, so called out a pest control man to kill them!
He charged her for killing it!
That evening I move the hive with bees, 15 miles to linseed oil.
This morning I check and they've gone again.
Two swarms over 3 days and 60 miles. what happen to all the easy swarms in low hedges.

Anyone else been chasing bees?
 
I had a swarm friday moved it 3 mile then I went to check it, it had gone i found it hanging in a tree, moved it around 15 times before i put the queen in a cage for a few days. There now happy rehomed . fingers crossed.
 
"moved it 3 mile"

i know this thread is about odd swarm behaviour BUT just to clarify - swarmed bees are in a reprogrammed state (necessary otherwise EVERY swarm would become immediately depleted by bees returning to old home) so 3 mile move is not necessary unless they have had enough time to get used to new home.

isn't nature / biology wonderful.
 
I had a swarm friday moved it 3 mile then I went to check it, it had gone i found it hanging in a tree, moved it around 15 times before i put the queen in a cage for a few days. There now happy rehomed . fingers crossed.

Well done, at least you have them.
I have one of them again :) but not sure for how long. I had the same idea to put her in a cage or to put a QE on the floor but I'l give it one more go first.
 
Collected a swarm on Sunday from a hedge five feet of the ground and another from a hanging basket 4 feet of the ground on tuesday both hived and happy so far.
 
I collected 3 different swarms over a couple of weeks at the beginning of June. Each time I put them into a ready-hive and each time they went off (2 within 36hours and the other after 3 days. (One of them I managed to spot and put them back in with QE underneath and they still ended up underneath, presumably waiting for the queen to come with them, they had no intention of staying put) Finally I moved the hive just 4 feet and turned it 90degrees. That did the trick (or my luck changed) and they are now doing very well. I put it down to ley-lines!
 
"moved it 3 mile"

i know this thread is about odd swarm behaviour BUT just to clarify - swarmed bees are in a reprogrammed state (necessary otherwise EVERY swarm would become immediately depleted by bees returning to old home) so 3 mile move is not necessary unless they have had enough time to get used to new home.

isn't nature / biology wonderful.

yes 3 miles as i wasnt goin to leave it hanging for the womens apple tree was I.
 
Finally got one yesterday pm. Small but easy. They were in a tree 15ft up between two branches. I used a pillow case type thing to get them, then turned it over to bang them into the hive and put the lid on.
I then sat on a wall and watched the leaving. As I went to go over to the hive I saw the queen sitting on the wall next to me.
Just picked her up and popped her in the hive.

Hopefully they are still in the hive, 15 miles away (I didn't want to leave them on a foot path). I'll check later today.

Cheers Steve for the tip off.
 

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