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Author Topic: First swarm of the year and a big one - wouldn't fit in my 5 gallon bucket!  (Read 4155 times)

Offline Bill W.

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I had to remove what would be (around here, anyway) a normal-sized swarm's bees before I could get the rest in the bucket.

I've been so busy, I've had very little time for bees this year and I missed three swarm calls already, but I think this one makes up for it.   :-D



More at http://beesbythesea.com/Bees_by_the_Sea_Apiary/News/Entries/2009/5/25_First_Swarm_of_the_Year.html.

Offline G3farms

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good grief charlie brown..............now that is a bucket of bees and then some.

wish all of the swarms I found were that big!!

Glad to see you got them put up, good job.

G3
those hot bees will have you steppin and a fetchin like your heads on fire and your keister is a catchin!!!

Bees will be bees and do as they please!

Offline 1reb

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Congratulations on catching that large swarm of bee


Johnny

Offline annette

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Makes my first swarm look so puny.  It was puny as it was an afterswarm. Congratulations on this swarm of yours. 

Offline Highlandsfreedom

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WOW!!!  8-)  You look calm cool and collected there I would be jumping up and down with JOY.  Great catch :jawdrop:
To bee or not to bee that is the question I wake up to answer that every morning...

Offline Irwin

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Way to go Bill thanks for sharing :-D
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Offline dpence

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That's a monster swarm...congrats. 

David

Offline NasalSponge

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That thing is HUGE!! :shock:

Offline asprince

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Nice swarm! That will be a wax drawing machine! Give them plenty of room or they will swarm again. They will probably make you some honey this year if place near a good flow.
 
Did you use the bee vac to capture the entire swarm? Was it Robo's design?  That is the way I have all swarms. Got two today. One was so high in an oak tree that I had to place an 8' step ladder on top of the cab of my truck and use 12' of hose extension. I could barely reach it then.

Steve
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Offline Bill W.

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Yep - this is the first swarm I've had that filled a hive.  I put them in two deeps with drawn comb and a medium with empty frames and, as of yesterday, they had drawn four full combs and were working on the rest.

This works out great for me, because I have four weak hives that need bees, so I will draw some of them off for my other hives once they are settled.

I usually only use the vac for cleanup after I get the bulk of the swarm.  Usually, I try to either cut the limb or bang them into the bucket.  This time, I needed to take some off the bottom and I didn't want to risk doing it by hand and having half the clump fall off.  Once I filled a catch box, I was able to get the rest of the swarm into the bucket and cut the branch.

The vac I use is (was?) sold by Kelley, but I have done some modifications, like lengthening the box and adding a momentary on/off switch I can operate with one hand.  It used to kill more bees than I liked, but experience and the modifications have improved things considerably.

Offline Cindi

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Bill, well shiver me timbers!!!  That is one huge, honkin' swarm, wow!!!  Great pictures by the way.  Have a great and most wonderful day, to love our great life, health.  Cindi
There are strange things done in the midnight sun by the men who moil for gold.  The Arctic trails have their secret tales that would make your blood run cold.  The Northern Lights have seen queer sights, but the queerest they ever did see, what the night on the marge of Lake Lebarge, I cremated Sam McGee.  Robert Service