# How do you get a swarm off a motorcyble?



## Claressa (Oct 1, 2009)

This afternoon at work a friend of mine emailed me that there was a swarm in the parking lot. She's not a beekeeper, so I thought to myself "Sure, a 'swarm'. It's probably nothing but I better go look." But when I got to the parking lot I found this:

Okay, I can't seem to get the "insert image" function to work, but you can view it on my blog here.

What you can't see is that they're all up in the air intake and the grill. Now, I've captured a couple of swarms in my day, but they were always on branches and swing sets and such. That's a Harley Davidson. Those bad boys are *heavy*! So, I didn't dare try to tip them in a box because I was pretty sure I'd hurt myself and/or the bike. I grabbed my bee suit, a brush, and a five frame nuc with some old comb and a little bit of honey and pollen. I tried to sweep them all in, but I'm not sure if I got the queen. Most of the girls lined up quite nicely to walk into the box and the lady I gave the nuc to said they were very docile. She had no bee gear but was able to drive them home and set them out with bare hands and face without any stings. However, there was still a good cup or two of bees left on the bike after I was done.

So my questions for you, sage adviser, are:


How do you know if you've got the queen in a swarm? 
How do you get a swarm out of all those little nooks and crannies? I had to work fast because they were threatening to call an exterminator to kill them for safety reasons and the guy whose bike it was kinda wanted to go home.
Why did they land there instead of all the tree branches, telephone poles, etc. they had to choose from? From Google image searches, it seems swarms really like motorcycles and small engine cars. Why is that?


Thanks in advance for your wisdom!

Claressa


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## quevernick (Feb 22, 2011)

This is exactly the type of situation that bee vacs come in real handy.


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## Claressa (Oct 1, 2009)

Oh, I should mention that I work at a federal facility that's been *real* antsy since 9/11. They wouldn't let me bring in my smoker and probably would have frowned on chemicals such as "Bee Go".


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## ArkansasBK (Mar 5, 2011)

Sounds like you did the best you could without a bee vac. The total ignorance among some government managers amazes me. I don't think common sense exists in government anymore.


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## KelpticFest (Apr 19, 2011)

ArkansasBK said:


> The total ignorance among some government managers amazes me. I don't think common sense exists in government anymore.


Tell me about it. I've worked for the gummint for 23 years. The best things one can say are - there's job security, and there's a definitely aggressive stance on fair hiring and treatment for women.


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## brooksbeefarm (Apr 13, 2008)

I make a scoop out of the plastic gallon bleach jug, it works well on getting bees off flat surfaces. The scoop and bee brush would have worked to get them off the motorcycle. If you have the queen in the nuc or hive, worker bees will stand on the landing board with their tails in the air and wings fanning to spread the queens pheromone, so the bees flying around will know where she is. Jack
PS. if all else fails, a 120mph ride on the motorcycle should do it.


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## D Semple (Jun 18, 2010)

I've had good luck just setting up a hive with it's entrance just a few inches below where the bees are congregated touching the surface they are on. Bait the hive with Lemon grass oil, and get them started by scoping a couple of handfulls of bees into the top of the box and then putting the lid on. They pretty much always march right in within an hour or so.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Oh, That's an easy one. Just give them a Harley hive. Forget the lemon grass oil. Spritz the inside with beer and puff cigarette smoke to calm them.










And Like Charlie B said, put a little sigh on it that says 'Virgins welcome!'
LOL


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## Cleo C. Hogan Jr (Feb 27, 2010)

In a situation like this, place a frame or two of drawn comb in a normal hive, on a white sheet or a white sack, under the motorcycle or tree limb or whatever, gently get a few handfulls of bees and put them in the hive, put a handfull on the entrance board, amd most of the time the others will walk right into the hive. Watch closely and often you will see the queen walking in also.

If it is a hot day and the bees want to fly when you try to pick them up, (IF you have access to one) use a spray bottle and gently spray the cluster of bees. It will keep them from flying. Wait until dark when the bees go in, then move hive to wherever you want them.

cchoganjr


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## deejaycee (Apr 30, 2008)

I've gotta say, Lauri... that's the coolest darn nuc I've ever seen!


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## wheeler88 (Mar 6, 2011)

Is this it,


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## Claressa (Oct 1, 2009)

Lauri, that is a *totally* cool nuc box! Thanks for all the expert advice. If that ever happens again I might be a little more prepared. I got pictures from coworkers so you can now see the whole saga.

Should I have seen the queen or eggs 3 days later? For what it's worth, the bees seemed very happy in their new home and were busily building comb, storing honey and pollen, and generally disinclined to sting.


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## Lauri (Feb 1, 2012)

Really neat pics and story! LOL love the lab coat/bee suit!


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## sfisher (Sep 22, 2009)

Go 60mph! lol


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