Swarms 2014

[Geohorn]

Came home from work Thursday to find a swarm I my garden low down near the ground in a small tight bush. Managed to scoop them them into a nuc box. Stragglers were in after three hours!! Unfortunately I haven't enough hive kit to house them. I had holed they'd have stayed and I was going to collect some kit this weekend but too late. Gone. Well I now know that extra hive kit is essential.

 

[Grub]

I had another turn up at 4.00 today so thats 3 in 4 days , luckily I do have the kit , all Christmas presents

Grub

 

[enrico]

Hi, we are really needing some advice if someone in the bee keeping world could help us.

This morning we had a huge swarm of what we think are honey bees over our chimney and also our neighbours. they have come down into our neighbours chimney and their bedroom was absolutely full of them. They seem to be gathering on the outside/inside of our chimney though which is strange. After getting all the windows open to let them out there seem to be a lot dying, also there bedroom and lounge have become very highly perfumed.

Within hours we now have a mass of bumblebees going into our bathroom air vent. Two masses of bees in one house is strange in one day?? We can't get anyone to help us over the weekend so we are looking for some advice as to what to do. Are we right in thinking bumblebees can be left alone and what do we do with the other bees?

Thank you in advance, Helen and James

I would suggest you light a really smokey fire in the fire grate as soon as possible, that maya clear the ones out of the chimney. As for the bumble bees! Never heard of a bumble bee swarm. Only the queens survive winter if you can wait that long.
Hope that may be of some help
E

 

[YorkshireBees]

It must be absolutely swarm crazy back in the UK atm.

After people ignored the large bold text on my website asking them not to call me whilst I'm working abroad I removed my number from the website.

Still had 25 calls today which I had to reject!!!!

One number called me 8 times during the day.

Either no one is collecting swarms in Yorkshire or I am way too popular!

Can't wait to see the state of my hives when I get back

 

[Mrs Shoot]

Had a swarm from one of my hives on Thursday. Sat in a holly tree nice and quiet, just getting a box ready to collect them, when they decided to leave. Followed them until I got stuck on a barb wire fence. Just saw them fly off into the distance. Gutted.
Had only inspected them on Friday, no QC's. Was going to perform an AS this Friday as hive is very very full of bees, and 18 frames with BIA. Buggers beat me to it. Had a look and there were a few charged QC's only one sealed.

 

[Outlander]

I had a phone call from my wife yesterday when I was at work, she said the apedie has just swarmed. No I said she's out on a mating flight. Wife said, well they are like a little swarm above the trees at the side of the house. Again I said it's ok she's on a mating flight. Later she rings back and said she has looked in the apedie not a bee in sight. They had swarmed

 

[enrico]

I had a phone call from my wife yesterday when I was at work, she said the apedie has just swarmed. No I said she's out on a mating flight. Wife said, well they are like a little swarm above the trees at the side of the house. Again I said it's ok she's on a mating flight. Later she rings back and said she has looked in the apedie not a bee in sight. They had swarmed

Not sure that' quite a swarm! Didn't leave queen cells or anything behind, I would suggest that was moving house for a bigger premises!!
e

 

[shudderdun]

Swarm

Put two 7 frame home built nuc type bait boxes up last Saturday 10th May, one on my garage roof and the other on my garden shed. Within a couple of hours a small number of bees were showing some interest. By lunch time on Monday there was much more interest on the garage box and on checking I think it was a small cast swarm that had arrived. I also checked the box on my shed, only a few bees inside and about 20 flighing back and forth.

Friday morning 10.30 I had the hoover going, when I switched it off the noise did not stop there, I huge amount of bees were flighing around my garden and were settling on the shed box, it was covered in bees, I dont know how they all fitted in !

I am away in Anglesey at the moment, but will need to get them moved to a friends farm several miles away into a National BB early this coming week.

Box had a mixture of old and foundation cone with some lemon grass oil.

 

[Duchy]

my neighbour had a huge swarm up his chimney on Friday. If you can't get to them, buy a can of 'raid' for bees and spray. there should be enough draft up the chimney to carry the fumes up. This will unfortunately kill the bees & a large clump should fall down....

 

[galileo]

Had a lovely prime swarm last Wednesday that filled a national covering 9 frames, 7 of which are already fully drawn with eggs all over 3 of them. Then I was called out to scoop a 3000ish bee cast from a fence post at a local school on Friday. But the best of the week came yesterday when I visited one of my apiaries to lift a couple of supers off clearer boards. There in the hawthorn hedge at waist height, a large swarm gathering. Into the box they went, puff of smoke on the branches and entrance ramp set to one way traffic in the shade to allow the stragglers to join the rest. Off to remove another super from another apiary and wheni returned halfan hour later, there in the same hedge only a couple of yards further on, another large swarm was bending the branches low. So into the same box they went and an hour later, they were tucked up and filling a brand new 14 by 12. I'm just hoping they had the chance to choose the better Queen in the mêlée.

oh, and the best of it is that none of them came out of any of my boxes

 

[cjhart2]

Well the oak tree strikes again , third one this year . The only trouble is it was dark when i found it so , I have no idea what I have till tomorrow .

 

[Dazzabee]

Just went for a lunchtime visit to my new site and found the tail end of a swarm taking up residence in my bait hive.

As you can see its a standard National at approx 2m high on top of an old farming trailer with the entrance facing south-ish. Inside is 1 old empty frame + rest foundation + few drops lemongrass oil.

Yesterday evening there was a lot of scouts at the hive so i was hoping the swarm would arrive today. Had a quick peek under the crown board and there was approx 5 or 6 seems of bee's with some still in the air and on the front.

PS- checked my hives and its not one of mine......

Had a peek inside this bait hive on Saturday. Decent size prime swarm with Bees already having drawn out 4 additional frames. Eggs present on 2 frames and stores filling 1 & 1/2 frames. Really dark brown almost black unmarked queen seen and the bees were so calm it was like they didn't even notice i was there.....

Looking good so far and hopefully all being well these will be my 2nd free colony of bee's from the new site I only started using on 1st April

 

[Ross]

Caught a swarm in the apiary yesterday

It wasn't one of mine

Just went into a hive all by itself

Wasn't a bait hive

It was tucked in the hedge under a load of branches and bushes

It was a stack of spare bits waiting for use and I now have a "double 14x12 and a half" full of bees which I need to get out of the hedge

 

[madasafish]

Hive I had AS'd last week (and missed a QC in hindsight) swarmed at 1pm today. landed in buddleia - whilst I was out at another hive. Rehoused in an empty TTBH by 2pm.

Run out of topbars and hives, except two warres..

 

[Cb50]

Would gladly accept a swarm in the Berkshire Hampshire area - will travel to collect.......

Setting up in my first year have one hive up and want to run a second to compare and contrast.....

Am on local swarm list hence the first one.

Thanks

CB

 

[clv101]

One of our hives swarmed (with old queen) on Satruday... we saw lots of scout bees around the place, looking for a new nest sites so knew the swarm must be near by and still in the open. After two hours searching my wife found it!

3m up on sloping ground, it wasn't an easy capture, but it's in a box now.

Annoyingly, this queen had already been split from the original colony some six weeks earlier on the production of queen cells!

 

[psafloyd]

I've had about eight contacts over the weekend, with ALL of them being (almost certainly) bumble bees.

Thankfully, all were grateful for advice and happy to leave well alone.

 

[Tonyatcwfarm]

Had a good swarm arrive Saturday morning,went in in little over an hour,returned from work 11pm,swarm gone.THought id add extra frames of foundation so filled out the bb Sunday morning,returned from work 10pm swarm in covering 5 frames,just set up mr top bar to see if I can catch a swarm for it
Using honey b healthy homemade substitute as lure

 

[TOBY-3652]

picked one up yesterday// queen seen marked red// and one off a hedge today more than likely is one of mine

 

[alldigging]

Had a swarm from one of mine. Big load of bees on some privet next door but one.
Collected them when soemone taller than me turned up. Let them walk into a hive and an hour and half later they were back in her hedge. Loads not clustered at 3.50pm. had to go out. Back half an hour later than they're not there.
Went and looked in apiary and there were loads of bees over the front of the hive.

Neighbour was lovely about it(must take her something sweet round)