i got called out last week on a swarm that scooted to wherever, before i could capture it - more common than one might think, as swarms that land on branches typically are only waiting for a better place to live. today, late in the afternoon, heading out of my garden, i spotted a swarm of bees that had settled on a pine tree.
a swarm clustered on a tree trunk isnt an easy swarm to hive. the nice fatty i punted to keith, over at bill birds, is a text book perfect swarm. a nice heavy swarm on a horizontal branch. juice them up with sugar water and 'BAM!' into the hive they drop.
this one - as you can tell, decided to take up abode along the trunk, extending vertically for about 3 feet. not an easy one to get to, much less hive. fortunately, it was on a tree which i would have to cut down sometime anyway - and no better reason than to get a swarm.
a few hacks with my loppers and i was able to lean the swarm over the hive box and dropped them in. well, they didnt drop real well - it some brushing, sugar water spraying, and more brushing and finally most of the bees were in the hive. tomorrow, they will move over to their new home.
Very nice recovery. So, I've got room for 2 more swarms, & I think you have room for 2 as well. Who get's the rest? You know there will be more than 4 successful grabs this year. Besides being on the swarm list from the bee store we have ads in Craigslist, and I have the owner of Flor De Oro Apiary punting any swarm calls he gets to me. I've got another dude on the line after us, but he's only good for 1 more. Then what?
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