Swarm on the floor!

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small_newworld

New Bee
Joined
Jan 3, 2012
Messages
27
Reaction score
0
Location
Ipswich
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
10
So, got called to a swarm today- by the time i got there the swarm had landed and spread out on a gravel path.

I put a nuc box next to them, spotted the queen and helped her inside and the rest followed, no problems- but has anyone ever seen a swarm land on the floor!???!!

Ive never known it- the queen didnt have clipped wings or anything. Is this normal? :eek:
 
seems to be not abnormal. I collected one a week ago Sunday that had landed on the floor and then climbed about 18" up a weeping laurel branch.

Another beek i know collected one the following Wednesday on the ground in a carpark.
 
One of my swarm today was in the middle of a flagged patio under a laurel bush,apparently it was in the bush but fell out lol, as soon as I put the old nuc on the floor they went racing in. not worthy
 
I have found that older queens tend to fly low ,in my recent swarms some touching the ground on small bushes


I prefer those than a young virgin high up in a tree, like last night....They did not want to walk in once we had it secured in a sheet...included A BALANCING ACT ON a Dustbin and a garden rake, i did not get in until 8:00 last night, event

i switched the phone off to day, only one more Nuc box, and decided i needed that for my own use
 
I had a swarm last year (one of my own) that landed in a small pond i have on top of the duck weed and water lillies, that was fun.
 
apparently, this lot had already swarmed on a bush about 5m away initially then decided to move and splat on the floor like a big moving pancake. Maybe the queen was exhausted. Why would they shift postion?

Dont make it easy sometimes do they!?
 

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