Swarm Collection

[weebee]

Got a swarm to collect tomorrow and I'm told it is very low to the ground so I'm tempted to drop it straight into a hive and just pop it on a stand when I get back. Anyone see a problem with that?

 

[SunnyRaes]

Its exactly what I did this morning...!

However just be sure it IS low to the ground. The one they found at work this afternoon was about 8 feet up a tree, but the chap the council sent out to collect it had been told it was low to the ground so didn't bring a ladder! He ended up climbing a fence whilst balancing on the end of the nuc box and trying to hook the branch with a stick whilst cutting it with the other hand!

 

[MuswellMetro]

Got a swarm to collect tomorrow and I'm told it is very low to the ground so I'm tempted to drop it straight into a hive and just pop it on a stand when I get back. Anyone see a problem with that?

low on the ground normally means an old queen....get there early otherwise it will be gone, they normally move off to their found "new Hive" by midday

no problem dropping it straight in, i do it with 14x12 nuc boxes..about the same size as a standard national

 

[Jordy]

Only logistics really. You won't get them all on the first drop so will need to leave the hive for a couple of hours or so to allow the flyers & stragglers time to go in. Then you will need to block the entrance and secure the floor and roof to the the brood box for transportation (presumably in a car). When you get home you will then need to disturb them by opening them up again to put some frames in, unless you did that on site. A skep or temporary container is much a much simpler tried & tested method, giving more time & options once you have the swarm contained. Just my humble opinion. Good luck.

 

[weebee]

Thanks all.

I will still be taking my box and cloth just in case they are not low enough.

Not put them straight into a hive before and wondered if walking then in helps settle the swarming instinct so they are more likely to stay put.

 

[oliver90owner]

low on the ground normally means an old queen

Not always the case. Mine congregate on the rose bushes in one of the adjoining gardens.

I have done that. 6 frame nuc with a couple frames removed (careful when replacing them as the bees can be squashed). In fact the only one I went out for this year was scraped from a tree branch whle standing on my car roof (first attempt) using a drawn frame as the 'shovel'. Got her (at third attempt) from a shrubby hedge where she decamped to, from the apple tree.

The other swarm needed a 14 x 12 box and a shallow on top to accommodate it easily. Checked it today and it needs another super, at least, already. Three weeks on, so going well. The parent colony is on a 14 x 12 with three shallows and needs another.

So go prepared, size-wise.

 

[susbees]

low on the ground normally means an old queen

Not sure about this either: eg. prime from middle of brambles touching the ground and loads of eight-ten foot willow and tallish hedge trees to pick from. Last June's queen. Perhaps it's a weight issue...there's slimmed. And slimmer

 

[weebee]

“Swarm collected in the wee small hours of this morning” said he yawning.

Low to ground required a small step ladder…. Ho Hum. Box and cloth was the order of the day. I’ll collect any stragglers later today but I don’t think any where many flying that early in the morning.