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Author Topic: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?  (Read 6293 times)

Offline sgtmom52

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Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« on: May 12, 2010, 07:59:02 pm »
We started the spring with 5 hives ~ all which swarmed in the past week!  We managed to catch 2 of the swarms with a bait hive & swarm lure and got a third off a low branch in a tree.  There is a 4th swarm which settled about 40 high in a poplar tree on a small branch.  There is no way to get to it without a cherry picker truck.  This swarm landed there on Thursday afternoon May 6th, it started to leave on Saturday afternoon around 4:30 pm for a short time then resettled at the same spot.  It is now Wednesday evening May 12th and it is still there!  We do have a bait hive out with swarm lure.  The temps have been on the cool side since Saturday and we have had some showers but it has not been so bad that the bees in the hives aren't flying.

So how long can they last up there?  I don't see any signs of dead bees on the ground under the swarm.

Offline John Schwartz

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #1 on: May 12, 2010, 08:09:33 pm »
Sounds like they've decided to make do where they're at. :)
―John Schwartz, theBee.Farm

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #2 on: May 12, 2010, 08:25:05 pm »
I hope not ~ they are not in a very good spot.  I am hoping that they may move tomorrow when the sunny warm weather returns.

Offline riverrat

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #3 on: May 12, 2010, 08:29:52 pm »
sounds like they are having trouble finding a new home. if they descide to stay there they will pull comb on the tree branches and most likely last thru the summer if it is not a wet summer. the winter cold will kill them
never take the top off a hive on a day that you wouldn't want the roof taken off your house

Offline AllenF

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #4 on: May 12, 2010, 08:36:49 pm »
Can you see or tell if they are building comb or wax on the limb?  I got a swarm just as high as I could climb a couple of years ago.   Most stayed in the new hive.  A small ball stayed up there.   I moved the new hive and left the small ball up there for a week and a couple of days.  They did not have a queen up there.   Then one morning, they were all gone.   I guessed they went back home.

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #5 on: May 12, 2010, 08:40:26 pm »
I can't see any comb ~ just bees.  It is on a small limb only about 2" in diameter and far from the tree trunk.  I am hoping that it is just the cooler damp weather that is keeping them up there.  I did put fresh swarm lure in the bait hive and keeping my fingers crossed. 

Offline riverrat

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #6 on: May 12, 2010, 09:11:06 pm »
if you are in the country a shotgun works well as a tree trimmer shoot the limb to breake it off like any good redneck just remember to say here hold my beer and watch this. :-D
never take the top off a hive on a day that you wouldn't want the roof taken off your house

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #7 on: May 12, 2010, 11:00:12 pm »
if you are in the country a shotgun works well as a tree trimmer shoot the limb to breake it off like any good redneck just remember to say here hold my beer and watch this. :-D

Hmmm ~ I live in the country, have a shotgun and a friend to hold my beer!   :lau:   Do I need an extra friend to hold a box under the bees?

Offline riverrat

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #8 on: May 12, 2010, 11:05:38 pm »
if you are in the country a shotgun works well as a tree trimmer shoot the limb to breake it off like any good redneck just remember to say here hold my beer and watch this. :-D

Hmmm ~ I live in the country, have a shotgun and a friend to hold my beer!   :lau:   Do I need an extra friend to hold a box under the bees?

depends on which one is holding the beer if things go wrong them could be your last words and of course the friends last words will be heck i could have done that here hold his beer :-D
never take the top off a hive on a day that you wouldn't want the roof taken off your house

Offline harvey

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #9 on: May 12, 2010, 11:06:36 pm »
A good redneck would know that a shotgun aint the gun for the trick if it is that high!  Use a rifle with a scope,  bust that limb right off with no problem!   Think I would want my neighbor to catch the bee's though not my friend,  they might be a little p oed about the drop!

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #10 on: May 13, 2010, 08:53:43 am »
With some of the rednecks around here they wouldn't care if the bees were p oed ~ heck give them enough beer and they may even make it an annual event!    :cheer:
« Last Edit: May 13, 2010, 09:06:32 am by sgtmom52 »

Offline gardeningfireman

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #11 on: May 13, 2010, 09:18:56 am »
If you really want to have some fun, have some friends hold a ladder straight up while you climb it to get that swarm off the branch! :-D

Offline D Coates

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #12 on: May 13, 2010, 10:14:16 am »
Do I need an extra friend to hold a box under the bees?[/quote]

Now that's funny...  If you actually did that, they better be a REALLY good friend or a friend that owes you a HUGE one.  Either way, you better have a delivery trucks worth of beer for them afterwards.
Ninja, is not in the dictionary.  Well played Ninja's, well played...

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #13 on: May 13, 2010, 12:52:51 pm »
If you really want to have some fun, have some friends hold a ladder straight up while you climb it to get that swarm off the branch! :-D

Now ~ I don't have a 40' ladder, but I guess we could strap together two 20' ones.   :lau:

Maybe I could just call the fire dept and tell them my pets are stuck up in a tree! 

Offline sgtmom52

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #14 on: May 14, 2010, 02:07:13 pm »
We were very happy to find that after 8 days in a tree ~ the swarm finally moved into our bait hive!  They had built a small amount of comb on the tree branch.   

 :bee:    Yeah ~ one more hive added to our bee yard!

Offline luvin honey

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #15 on: May 14, 2010, 03:23:38 pm »
Excellent! In a way, it's too bad. All of the above suggested scenarios would have been fun to hear about.  8-)
The pedigree of honey
Does not concern the bee;
A clover, any time, to him
Is aristocracy.
---Emily Dickinson

Online Michael Bush

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Re: Swarm ~ how long can they stay up there?
« Reply #16 on: May 15, 2010, 10:14:25 am »
If they are stuck for more than a few days, they usually don't leave... they start building comb.
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