Hiving a swarm

[Newbeeneil]

Normally .. Yes ... invariably ... No.

I picked up a swarm last year that had been in a bush for four days and had actually started building some comb on a branch. Was it a temporary home as they could just not find the desres they really wanted or had they (stupidly) decided a bush in the open was a sensible place to live.

I'm with you on that pargyle.
I picked up a swarm on 2/6/18 and happened to mention it to a guy I met this year. He mentioned that he had seen a swarm in the same grave yard and showed me a photo which shows the swarm on the same branch. The date stamp on the picture was 28/6/18!
I reckon that's 6 days.

 

[Monkey]

I went back to the hive about 3 hours after they went in. The air was full of bees, and the hive next door, which I think the swarm came from, was extremely busy around the entrance. I wonder if the swarm were robbing their original home. There was no fighting on the landing board though, so perhaps not. I don’t know if former residents would be considered alien.

A couple of hours later again, the original hive was back to normal behaviour and the new swarm hive was almost silent. There was an occasional bee going in, and one or two sticking their heads out then retreating. I got the feeling that the hive was not busy. I wonder if they’ve swarmed again and I’m back to one hive. Weather tomorrow is supposed to be awful, so it might be a couple of days before I can look inside.

 

[Monkey]

Just been reading back through the thread. A couple of points I can add...

I am pretty sure the swarm came from my hive. The nearest other hive is about quarter of a mile away. I can see it across the valley from me. I believe a swarm gathers close to their original hive, so this would be too far away, and a massive coincidence, for them to land 50 feet from my hive.

It was large, a bit smaller than a rugby ball, several thousand bees I guess, so I don’t think it was a cast. When I do get the chance to inspect them, if they’re still there, I’ll look for the yellow 2017 marking on the queen.

Yesterday, perhaps for the first time since I started keeping bees in 2017, I felt like a beekeeper. I caught a swarm and populated a hive with them. Apart from my new boy cack-handed nervousness, I think it went perfectly (results show otherwise). I think I must have missed something though, as the bees came back out of the hive. Today, I walked them back in again, and they did appear to stay (although I’m now having my doubts), so again I was chuffed to bits.

If nothing else, I feel far more comfortable around active bees than I was before, even if I haven’t got the faintest clue what they are doing.

Finally, if you get a swarm, please take the time to walk them in if you haven’t before. It is a wonderful thing to see.

 

[Monkey]

First time the weather has allowed me to get in to the hive. They've gone again. I guess, for whatever reason, they really, really wanted to be somewhere away from my apiary.

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

First time the weather has allowed me to get in to the hive. They've gone again. I guess, for whatever reason, they really, really wanted to be somewhere away from my apiary.

What a shame after all your efforts. Ungrateful little beggars!