Is this a new bait for swarms ?? Long story!

[Alabamaeee]

So there I am, a newish beek just inspecting my hives at my out Apiary this morning and changing the Th**nes faulty yellow plastic excluder for a wire one.

All goes well and I don't spend too long on the hives as I suspect a new queen may be getting ready for her mating flight on such a nice day.

I trundle home content if slightly overheated. When I get home SWMBO is sitting out in the sun and has a nice lunch prepared.

I dump all the gear in my garage and have my lunch, then it's a spot of gardening in the nice sunshine.

My wife goes into the garage to get some digging tools a little later, come out and say "The garage is full of bees!"

The excluder has about 20 bees on it and quite a few more checking out a cupboard that has my spare foundation sheets in it.

I don the suit, take my spare brood box into the garden and quickly set up a hive with the QE in it and 6 old frames with stores (all I have left at the moment)

Bees keep flying in an up into the garage rafters (darn it) so being a newbie I think "smoke" and liberally smoke the garage and close the door leaving a little gap.

Half an hour later and there is a hive of activity (groan)

Next door neighbour is allergic to bee stings so being a good neighbour I tell him that I hopefully have "caught " a swarm and in a couple of days they will be taken to the Apiary.

So I am left wondering if the heavily propolised QE was the attraction or did they just appear looking for a new home ?

In any case I hope they stay, and now I must read what is the best plan to make sure I give them the best chance in their new home.

Could they just be scout bees? I estimate only about 200 at present, but I won't disturb them, so I'm just guessing

What a hobby

 

[Alabamaeee]

UPDATE.

They appear to have flown their temporary home or are off to alert the swarm.

My bees look very different from these ladies, at least in colour.

They are very black, see attached out of focus pic which I took blind, not being able to see what was in focus with my veil on!

Least that is my excuse

 

[For want of a better word]

UPDATE.

They appear to have flown their temporary home or are off to alert the swarm.

My bees look very different from these ladies, at least in colour.

They are very black, see attached out of focus pic which I took blind, not being able to see what was in focus with my veil on!

Least that is my excuse

Robbers maybee... but put a bait hive on top of a pair of steps by the garage door, some old drawn brood foundation and some frames laced with lemon balm ( too late for grandads bait sausage as month dose not have an r in it or has more than four Sundays)
and strap the hive down.... bet you get some interest and maybee a new 40000 or so new friends!

 

[BeeNice]

Hi, had a brood box outside my kitchen window last week, when I notice scout bees checking it out. I had some wood on top the seal the box and moved this away and the bees started to enter, also had a nuc box on top of that, that I had recently taken bees out of. Bees moved into the BB, took a couple of days, but when I looked there was a small swarm, about 2 frames full. Don't know if it was the smell of the recently departed bees or the drawn wax foundation but they have come in handy as I have united them with a queenless hive. Somethings are just ment to bee!
Keep the box in place for a few days and see what happens.
regards
Steven

 

[Alabamaeee]

ICANHOPIT - I packed it with a well roasted Bratwurst from Lidl, which I carefully sprayed with Ouzo and another nice smelling compound that is often use under icing.

When they came out of the entrance they were so happy they just fell over on to the grass and slept it off in the afternoon sun

To be serious, I have a few honking old frames in there with stores and pollen, so maybe tomorrow the full team will arrive if the weather turns cool.

If nothing else it gave them some food!

Still can't believe how black their bodies are though. As a new beek I wondered if they really were honey bees, until I got a closer look.

Will leave it out in the garden for a few more days.

 

[BeeNice]

The native bee of Britain is the black bee, so your lot could be more native than mine!
S

 

[chickendave]

Iv'e got a couple of colonies that are really black you can hardly see a stripe on them, got them from a swarm last year and done a increase this year. I don't know their origin but lovely bees to work with

 

[Andre cardona]

ICANHOPIT - I packed it with a well roasted Bratwurst from Lidl, which I carefully sprayed with Ouzo and another nice smelling compound that is often use under icing.

When they came out of the entrance they were so happy they just fell over on to the grass and slept it off in the afternoon sun

To be serious, I have a few honking old frames in there with stores and pollen, so maybe tomorrow the full team will arrive if the weather turns cool.

If nothing else it gave them some food!

Still can't believe how black their bodies are though. As a new beek I wondered if they really were honey bees, until I got a closer look.

Will leave it out in the garden for a few more days.

would the store not atrate robbing not good i think

 

[For want of a better word]

Looks like a grist of Greek bees to me...... just waits untils the queen she goes outs to mates

the smashed plates around the hive will give the game away !

Ouzo ???????