Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum
BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => HONEYBEE REMOVAL => Topic started by: Bill W. on May 28, 2009, 01:13:50 pm
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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
(http://beesbythesea.com/Bees_by_the_Sea_Apiary/Photos/Pages/Swarms_2009_files/Media/IMGP3413/IMGP3413.jpg)
More at http://beesbythesea.com/Bees_by_the_Sea_Apiary/News/Entries/2009/5/25_First_Swarm_of_the_Year.html.
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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
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Congratulations on catching that large swarm of bee
Johnny
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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.
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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:
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Way to go Bill thanks for sharing :-D
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That's a monster swarm...congrats.
David
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That thing is HUGE!! :shock:
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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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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.
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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