Gift of a swarm

[grizzly]

Finally i have been given the gift of a prime that did not come from my own stocks, cut them out this evening. nice local bees, should perk up my apiary gene pool nicely.

 

[Ceph]

Nice big swarm that, what is the construction that they are in?

 

[grizzly]

Thankfully a very rotten old style conservatory, due to be pulled down soon so they let me make a mess.

 

[Heather]

How the other half live!!!

I just spent 5 hours getting a swarm out of a car engine in a supermarket car park.
It was on the windscreen but quickly descended into the engine and under the fascia - finally ending in the wheel arch too...

At least the vacuum suction machine my lovely husband battled to construct came into full use - it worked well and damaged very few bees.

Have I got the queen- Lord knows- time will tell, but they are now in a brood box - they had better stay!!

 

[tonybloke]

you lot don't half 'faff' about! picked up a decent size swarm this evening. cut branch with bees from hawthorn bush, place in upturned skep, then invert skep onto white sheet with stone under edge of skep. 5 min job. drink cuppa and leave ( to attend allotment management committee meeting ) go back for the bees at 10 p.m.. all in skep, pick up cloth, tie round the skep, place bundle into back of van ( on plastic boot-tidy tray thingy ) drive home. simples! have left the bees in van overnight, will hive them tomorrow.

 

[Heather]

Yep- (groan) but some are public duty!!
I get the others too- and last year I collected 3 prime from same property- his house was a total load of colonies in the hung wooden tiles. Taught him so well- the third swarm he had waiting for me in a large cardboard box- Eat my shorts Tonybloke