Catching Swarms

The Nature of Swarms Primary Swarms Secondary or after-swarms Absconding colonies Some swarm calls are not swarms Creatures other than bees Honeybee nests

Four ways to catch swarms Grab it off of its resting place Bait hive cut out (not really a swarm) Trap out (not really a swarm)

Catching a clustered swarm Swarmbox Use a hive box or a swarm bucket For distance in extreme weather, hive box is better. Short distance mild weather, bucket is more convenient

Making a swarm bucket Easy bucket More sophisticated bucket Using a 5 gallon bucket drill a bunch of 1/8” holes More sophisticated bucket Cut the top 3rd off of a 5 gallon bucket put it inside a whole bucket and drill a bunch of 1/8” holes. Put a frame in the bucket for the bees to climb on. Fancy bucket Cut ½” to 1” holes in the bucket and brad #8 hardware cloth into the bucket as a liner. Plan could be combined with above to make sophisticated fancy bucket.

Using a swarm bucket The swarm bucket is good for a quick catch. If you show up just before daybreak, the swarm can be put in the bucket with ease. It is good to spray the swarm with sugar water from a spray bottle before capturing them. You can spray the bees in the bucket again and put the lid on the bucket. When dumping the bucket into a hive bump it on the ground so the bees won’t come flying out when you open it.

Using the hive box The best time to gather a swarm is early in the morning before the sun comes up. Once the sun comes up the bees will be flying and you will miss some of them. Use the hive box if this is your situation and dump the swarm into the box and leave it convenient to the original swarming place overnight. The next morning close the box up before the sun rises and carry it at least 3 miles away. If the weather is very hot or if there is a long distance to the destination apiary it is better to put the bees in a box instead of a bucket.

Page 14 of the Hive and the Honey Bee From a Natural Science Book (265-290 AD) “People use wooden vessels (barrels) and bore holes in them and rub beeswax on the inside and outside of the vessel. They catch several bees…and a moment later let them fly away…then these bees will accompany a lot of other bees to the barrel and after two or three days the vessel contains many bees and people take it home”

Bait Hive Bee’s house hunting criteria Size Location Openings Orientation

How to build it: Parts for 2 1 Sono Tube ¼” plywood. I use scraps 2 1” X 4” boards 12” long or 2 5 gal. bucket lids 6 ¾” cable clamps 8 2 ½” 3/16 bolts 2 1” springs Some flashing scraps Cheap exterior paint 2 old brood frames Lemon grass oil or some other pheromone 4 pintles 2 q-tips or cotton swabs 2 sandwich bags

Bait hive A cheap and easy design for 2 bait hives Cut a 4’ Sono Tube in half Cut 4 1/4” plywood squares 13”. 2 will make the bottoms

How to build it: Assembly Draw a straight line down 1 side Cut a 3/4” hole 3” from the top Cut a 1 ½” hole 3” from the bottom

How to build it: Assembly Set a piece of plywood under the bottom of the tube. Spray from the inside to mark the circle. Cut the circle. I use a jig saw. Every tube is a little different so don’t try to mass produce the bottoms. Put the circle into the bottom. It should be a tight fit. Nail or staple it in. I use a pneumatic stapler. Paint the box, the support and one side of the top. Mark a line down the back side of the box. Cut a piece of ¼” plywood 2’1”long.

How to build it: Assembly Make a mark 4” from the top of the support board. Make another mark 18 ¼” from that mark. Cut 2 pieces of flashing about 2” by 3”. Make 2 holes on each mark using the cable clamp for a template. Assembly at the bottom should be: clamp/plywood/tube/flashing clamp using 2 ½” ¼ 20 nuts and bolts Assembly at to top should be clamp/plywood/tube/flashing/spring secured with the nuts and bolts.

How to build it: Assembly Mark a 12” board to fit the curves tightly in the top of the tube. Cut the edges to fit. Screw, glue or staple the board to the unpainted side of the plywood square. This makes the top secure Option..on some tubes you can use a lid from a 5 gal bucket to make a better fit. One “ear” of the brood frame fits in the bottom inside clamp. The other end is secured by the spring.

Bait hive installation Measure the distance between the outside clamps. In the tree where the bait hive will be, drill pilot holes at that distance from one another. Screw the pintles into these holes with the pintle end up. Use the cotton swab to put a little pheromone on one edge of the brood frame and around the entrance holes. Put on the top I usually put some duct tape on for extra security if using boards instead of bucket lids Hang the tube from the pintles. I usually secure it with a ratchet strap as well.

Cut-outs-not much fun

Trap outs Use the same tube as the bait hive. Cut a hole for a piece of 1 ½” plastic pipe. Put a “nozzle” on the end of a plastic pipe inside the tube that protrudes through the opening. To make the nozzle put a fitting that will not pass through the opening in the tube on the end of a piece of 1 ½” plastic pipe. Make a funnel with a ½” opening from #8 hardware cloth and fix this to the fitting with duct tape.

Attaching the trap out tube. This will be different in almost every case. The objective is to seal the hive up in such a way that the bees cannot leave or enter except through a piece of plastic pipe with a fitting that will match the pipe protruding from the tube. The nozzle will prevent the bees from re-entering the hive. Some type of structure will have to be made to support the trap.

Hiving the bees Leave the bait hive at the location where the permanent hive will be for a day or two Pull the frame from the bait hive and put it into a regular hive If there is comb attached to the top or inside of the box, it should be carefully cut out and rubber banded into empty frames

After Maintenance David Segrest Bee Good Honey 704 236 3705 These are fragile colonies. They need to be fed and they will need mite treatment soon. David Segrest Bee Good Honey 704 236 3705