{"id":6801,"date":"2023-11-17T06:32:00","date_gmt":"2023-11-17T06:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/?p=6801"},"modified":"2023-11-17T07:55:00","modified_gmt":"2023-11-17T07:55:00","slug":"what-to-do-after-catching-a-swarm-of-bees","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/farmandanimals.com\/what-to-do-after-catching-a-swarm-of-bees\/","title":{"rendered":"What To Do After Catching A Swarm Of Bees?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you’re a beekeeper or an aspiring beekeeper<\/a> and you’re lucky enough to spot a swarm of bees<\/a>, you’ll surely want to gather them up and take them home. How do you do that, and what do you do after you’ve gotten them home? In this article, we discuss what to do after catching a swarm of bees<\/em> & more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Wear Your Beekeeping Suit!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"wear<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Bees swarm when the hive has become overcrowded and\/or a new or second queen has emerged. Typically half the hive will swarm, so this means a group of about forty thousand bees all gathered together in a clump.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For standard honeybees, their behavior at this time is quite docile. They are focused on finding a new place to live. Even so, you should always suit up when handling bees. Getting stung even once is not a happy experience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Bee Swarms Are Surprisingly Easy to Gather<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

If you see a swarm of bees clustered on a tree branch, it is amazingly easy to shake them off<\/a> into a cardboard box or plastic tote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

An alternative to shaking the bees into a box for transport is to simply cut off the branch that they’re resting upon. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

If it’s a thin branch and this is easy to do, it may be the best way. Then you can just transfer the entire branch into your box for transport.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you’ve shaken the bees into your waiting box, you should wrap the container in a large sheet, tarp or other cloth to keep the bees inside as you move them to their waiting hive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Determine Whether You Have the Queen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"determine<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

A nice, tight ball of bees gathered closely on a tree branch indicates that the queen is with them. This is very desirable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the bees are flying around and you can’t really tell whether the queen is there or not, it’s good to have a queen excluder on hand to place over the box once you’ve caught the bees. Let the box sit for a few moments and see how the bees behave.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If the worker bees make their way out through the queen excluder and fly away, you can be certain that the queen is not inside your box. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

On the other hand, if loose bees fly to the box and go through the excluder to get inside, you can be certain that you do have the queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What Should You Do If You Don\u2019t Have The Queen?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Even if you didn’t get the queen, you still want the bees. You can add them to another colony that you may already have, or if you have quick access to a queen, you can start them off in their own hive with a new queen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don’t Rush!<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Don't<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

When you get to the new location, set the container full of bees down near the hive or a nuc box and get everything ready for them. Allow them to sit for a while so that they can settle down a bit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Open up the unoccupied hive or nuc box. You’ll want to remove a few frames so that there’ll be plenty of space to put the bees. It’s best if the hive or box already has honey stores and some drawn comb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once all is ready, uncover\/open your box full of bees and shake, scoop or brush them gently into the waiting hive or nuc box. Take care to disturb the bees as little as possible. This will encourage them to settle in and stay in their new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Make Sure The Bees Have Enough To Eat<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"make<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

If the hive is completely empty and has no honey stores or comb, you’ll need to feed the bees for a number of weeks until they’ve become established by drawing their own comb, and building up stores of pollen and honey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Carefully reinsert the frames that you have removed. Take care not to crush any of the bees. Provide a sugar block or sugar syrup to feed the bees for a few days. You may also want to add a few frames that already have honey and drawn comb.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Close up the hive and allow the bees to settle in. Set the empty box down close to the entrance of the hive or nuc box.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As the bees settle in, you may notice that some of the workers gather in groups of about a half-dozen on the sides of the hive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They’ll raise their abdomens and fan their wings to let other bees know that the queen is here and this hive is now home. If all goes well, as the sun sets, all the bees will go inside and that will be that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After a couple of days, perform a cursory inspection just to make sure that everything is going well and that the queen has settled in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After this initial inspection, you can simply check on them once weekly or every other week just as you would any other settled hive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Do Newly Relocated Swarms Need Special Food?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Since these bees are starting off with little or no food stores or drawn comb, they’ll need support. Set up a top feeder and keep the bees well supplied with a sugar syrup that is two parts plain white sugar and one part water.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Be sure that the sugar is thoroughly dissolved before feeding. You can do this by bringing the mixture to a boil, and simmer it for about five minutes. Allow it to cool thoroughly before feeding it to the bees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some beekeepers simply put the sugar and water into a blender and mix it on high for a couple of minutes to make certain that the sugar is completely dissolved.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Keep feeding your bees until they are well established, have drawn comb on their own and you see that the queen has begun to lay eggs. Be patient because all of this may take several weeks to occur.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When Are You Most Likely To Find A Swarm Of Bees?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"when<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

In terms of time of day, you’re most likely to see swarms during the warmest times of day. Typically this is in the afternoon between 1 o’clock and 4 o’clock.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In terms of season, you can find bees swarming any time throughout the honey production season, but if it’s late in the season you may not want to bother with them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you catch them early in the springtime, they’ll have plenty of time to get themselves established and begin producing honey. The later in the season it gets, the less time they will have to become established and strong before winter sets in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you do gather a swarm in the late summer or autumn, know that you will need to feed them continuously throughout the winter<\/a> to keep them alive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How Can You Tell If Your New Bees Are Happy?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Bees that are focused on getting used to their new home will engage in orienting behavior. You’ll see groups of them flying in clusters around the front of the hive, facing the hive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When they do this, they are orienting themselves to the location of the hive in relation to landmarks and the sun. When they do this, it means that they are accepting their new home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Very rarely, bees will dislike their new home and may bundle together and swarm off. This is quite rare, though. You should not worry that this will happen if you take care to prepare the nuc or hive appropriately.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How To Catch & Install A Swarm<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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https:\/\/youtu.be\/gihM9T7QQLk<\/a>