# Collecting swarms with AHB present



## MichaBees (Sep 26, 2010)

AHB is here to stay, so; learn to deal with it. 
Full AHB is hard to manage, but can be done. Do not fear, just wear good armor.


----------



## jdawdy (May 22, 2012)

Don't let the fact that AHBs are around stop you- just be careful. Never attempt to work feral bees without a full bee suit and smoker. Make sure no one is within about 300 yards when you try to capture/retrieve them. Have a beeyard away from people to place them in. 

Odds are you will see far more EHB than AHB ferals.


----------



## Joseph Clemens (Feb 12, 2005)

For the past 20 plus years I've been in the heart of AHB country. I used to try hiving wild swarms around my area - I could rarely keep one hived, even if I gave them open brood. This happened many dozens of times. I haven't tried that recently, but I frequently have wild swarms, from outside my apiary come settle in some of my empty gear. I let them, then kill their queens and replace her with my cultured queen cells - works every time.

BTW - AHB swarms are about as feisty as a typical EHB established colony. They are not docile like EHB swarms usually are.


----------



## brdmkr (Mar 22, 2013)

Thanks for your advice. I think I will build swarm traps today. I had wondered about requeening. I suppose if I thought the swarm was to aggressive, I could just give them a new (bred) queen.


----------



## stan.vick (Dec 19, 2010)

brdmkr said:


> Thanks for your advice. I think I will build swarm traps today. I had wondered about requeening. I suppose if I thought the swarm was to aggressive, I could just give them a new (bred) queen.


 Welcome to beekeeping, this is my forth year keeping bees. I live about the same distance from the port of savannah that you do. Africanized bees are know to enter the U.S. by ship. I started with purchased bees, but I am having much better survival rates now after catching swarms and doing cut outs. I have even taken several virgin queens to the middle of fort stewart [ 280,000 acres] and left them to mate with feral bees, I would then bring them back and use them for future breeding purposes. I only had one colony from a swarm that was exceptionly aggresive. I moved the hive to another property where it was alone and feed them constantly for a few weeks until they swarmed and the old queen went elsewhere, after a few weeks they calmed down and turned out to be my best producers. Good luck with the bees.


----------

