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Author Topic: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)  (Read 3672 times)

Moots

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Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« on: March 27, 2013, 10:54:31 pm »
YES! The moment we have all waited for....OK...Well at least the moment I've waited for!  :laugh:
 
SWARM #1 --- Understand, not swarm #1 of the year....BUT, FIRST SWARM EVER!  :-D

Obviously, my efforts via "word of mouth" finally paid off....Got a call from a co-worker in the front office to tell me she had transferred a bee call to dispatch.  I was on the phone with dispatch before they could drop the call and had them transfer the caller to me.  I did a little better job with my questions and confirmed it was a swarm..."about 8 feet off the ground"!  :)
Before I could get out the parking lot, I had two other co-workers call me to see if I had heard the call go out on the radio. LOL!

Anyway, got home, grabbed my stuff and headed that way...Of course, 8 feet turned out to be more like 16 feet!  :shock:

Luckily from what I've learned reading this forum, I was fully expecting that and wasn't surprised in the least!





Ran a few different approaches over in my mind real quick, upon reflection, not sure I took the best or easiest route, but I think it all worked out.
Since I was near the top of a 10 1/2 foot ladder, I decided to suit up out of an abundance of caution.  The plan was to gentle snip the limb, carry it down the ladder and place it in the box.  However, it really didn't work as I had envisioned it.  I was kind of stretching to reach it and the cutting of the limb kind of snapped back, causing me to lose the vast majority of the cluster. 
I placed what i had in the box and I placed the box atop the ladder in the hopes they would be drawn to it.  Bees started clustering mostly on my ladder so I put the bee vac to the test and was very satisfied with how it performed.  :)
After vacuuming up quite a few bees I notice that the bees were tending to hang out around the exhaust of the vacuum and the bees in the box were headed out.  Figured the queen had to be in the vac.  I took the box off the ladder, opened the bee vac and dumped them in....Put the lid on but left a decent size opening on one end. 
In no time it was obvious that they were all now interested in entering the box.
Video clip!

After they all made it inside, I closed the lid, hung around and vacuumed up a few stragglers and headed home.

All in all, I think it went well.....Sorry for rambling on...But I'm I little on the fired up side of things.  After all, you only get one first swarm!  :-D

Offline PLAN-B

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #1 on: March 27, 2013, 11:13:09 pm »
You have no idea how happy I am for ya Moots... Just awesome and thrilled to hear that the vac worked as intended... I know one Dad (aka Bailey) that will be proud too....  :-D
Marshall

Offline hjon71

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #2 on: March 27, 2013, 11:14:29 pm »
Way to go Moots :cheer:

I think I'll wait another year before I venture into that. LOL
Quite difficult matters can be explained even to a slow-witted man, if only he has not already adopted a wrong opinion about them; but the simplest things cannot be made clear even to a very intelligent man if he is firmly persuaded that he already knows, and knows indubitably, the truth of the matter under consideration. -Leo Tolstoy

Offline Kathyp

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #3 on: March 27, 2013, 11:20:06 pm »
the first time is always special  :evil:
Someone really ought to tell them that the world of Ayn Rand?s novel was not meant to be aspirational.

Moots

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #4 on: March 27, 2013, 11:24:54 pm »
You have no idea how happy I am for ya Moots... Just awesome and thrilled to hear that the vac worked as intended... I know one Dad (aka Bailey) that will be proud too....  :-D

Hey B, I couldn't wait, I had to call him when I was on the way home to tell him about it...As well as pick his brain for advice on how to best handle the situation.

But hey, what are Dads for...Right!  :)

Thanks again Bailey, followed your advice and got them in place...all went smooth!

Offline vmmartin

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #5 on: March 27, 2013, 11:31:12 pm »
Congratulations. It will be the first of many, I am sure.

Offline Joe D

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #6 on: March 27, 2013, 11:31:49 pm »
Good going Moots, just the start of things to come.




Joe

Offline schawee

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #7 on: March 27, 2013, 11:33:48 pm »
 great job moots. I know how you feel to get your first swarm,made me think back to my first. :piano: :piano: :piano:
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Offline divemaster1963

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #8 on: March 28, 2013, 12:07:44 am »
You will aways remember your first. X:X :bee:

John

Offline 10framer

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #9 on: March 28, 2013, 12:12:47 am »
the lazy man approach is to throw a rope with a weight on it over the limb, set a box under the cluster then give the limb a hard tug and the bulk of the cluster should land in the box put the lid on and wait.  when the bees that are left cluster up again lift the lid and give it another pull.  close them up again  the bees should be fanning by now.  leave the lid on and pull again.  you won't get every last bee but you'll get 95 percent of them.

Offline bailey

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #10 on: March 28, 2013, 12:17:24 am »
He had me on the phone before he ever got home.
Good to see you get one.
It looks like a nice one too.
Now beware,  swarms are comb building and bee raising machines.  That 8 frame med will be drawn out in less than a month and they will swarm again if you let them get crowded.

Good work, making me proud.
Bailey
most often i find my greatest source of stress to be OPS  ( other peoples stupidity )

It is better to keep ones mouth shut and be thought of as a fool than to open ones mouth and in so doing remove all doubt.

Offline annette

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #11 on: March 28, 2013, 12:44:58 am »
I remember my first swarm catch. I was on the phone with JP who was walking me through the whole process. I was so nervous and excited.

Still I am totally excited about each and every one I catch.

Offline Intheswamp

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #12 on: March 28, 2013, 01:08:37 am »
Way to go Moots!!!  That looks like a "good'un"!!!!

It's interesting, I read about all the swarms people catch but except for my own swarms last year that I re-hived I  have never seen a clustering "wild swarm".  I drove through one one day that was still in the air (way before I got interested in keeping them), but that's the only swarm of any kind that I had seen until last spring.  And I'm 55 years old.  :?

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Offline gov1623

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #13 on: March 28, 2013, 01:12:20 am »
Way to go moots.

Now get ready!! It always seems like when you catch the first one of the year they keep on coming. My first one turned in to my first 10 very quickly.
Who Dat!!!

Offline BeeMaster2

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #14 on: March 28, 2013, 06:40:00 am »
:pinkelephant: :devilbanana: :bee: X:X :hissyfit: :yippiechick:
Yea Moots.
An old pool pole and a 5 gallon bucket and some duct tape make that type of swarm easy and safer. Just tape the bucket to the pole and bounce the bucket under the swarm into the branch.
Jim
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Offline splitrock

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #15 on: March 28, 2013, 07:00:52 am »
Way To Go.

 Each swarm seemed to get easier for me, but they still give the same thrill.

Joel

Offline Georgia Boy

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #16 on: March 28, 2013, 09:05:43 am »
Lets hear it for Moots!!!!!

3 cheers, HURRAH, HURRAH, HURRAH!!!!!!

Way to freaking go man. Happy for you.  X:X X:X
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Moots

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #17 on: March 28, 2013, 09:15:01 am »
Thanks everyone for the Congrats and advice.  :)

It's nice to be able to share the experience with folks who can relate and appreciate the excitement of the experience.

10framer...I'm familiar with the method you describe, watched a video the other day where JP and Schawee utilized it...Not sure it was a text book example, the bees seemed to not be too interested in cooperating. :lau:
Had it been 25 feet instead of 16ish, I probably would have had to go that route.

Jim...You're right, this retrieval was probably tailor-made for a bucket/pole retrieval.  However, while I've read about the method, I haven't added that tool to the tool box yet.  :laugh:  Maybe that needs to be my next project.  Although I think I'm going to build another holding bucket for my bee-vac first, I can see where it would come in handy.

I really think it went fine, in hindsight, if I had it to do again, I think I would use the holding bucket from my bee vac in one hand and do a shake with the other....getting the lid on as soon as safely possible.  Then while safely on the ground i could have transferred them to my box and vacuumed up the stragglers.  Or, leaving them in the bucket while using a second bucket to vacuum up the stragglers would have also been a good option....assuming a second holding bucket is available.

WOW!  It was really neat!  Now I can't wait for the next one!  :-D
« Last Edit: March 28, 2013, 10:03:16 am by Moots »

Offline blanc

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #18 on: March 28, 2013, 09:51:34 am »
 X:X :bee: :cheer: :piano:
Psalm 19:9-10
The fear of the Lord is clean,enduring forever; the judgments of the Lord are true and righteous altogether.
More to be desired are they than gold, yea ,than much fine gold: sweeter also than honey and the honeycomb.

Offline D Coates

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Re: Alert the media - Swarm Virgin NO-MORE! :-)
« Reply #19 on: March 28, 2013, 10:04:37 am »
Congratulations!  It's all gravy from here.  Before you know it you'll be doing it with only a veil as protection.
Ninja, is not in the dictionary.  Well played Ninja's, well played...