Hi All,
I just got into BK by catching my first swarm, which was a big deal for me as I had a bit of a fobia since being stung when I was a kid, but, you know what they say ... it's all in the mind! The swarm had made its new home in my backhoe arm. Luckily, I found them before they could make themselves comfortable and I sprayed a small puff of 'Aerostart' (an ether spray, used to start stubborn engines) into the arm, and fled the scene. Around 10 mins later they swarmed out and onto the outter foliage of a Blackwood tree, only 10 feet off the ground. Anyhoo, the next day, after being stung 5 times in the first attempt from not spraying enough syrup on them, they settled down for the second attempt. I never knew it could be that easy! I think one other reason for their aggression may have been that they had started to build comb. And yes, I know, no pics = it never happened, right? Well, the wife was holding the branch with a hooked pole and I was holding the bees on the ladder, and so, where were you when I needed a photographer???