# What is your success rate of converting a trapped swarm to a production hive?



## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

For those of you who are successful at trapping swarms, how successful are you at managing the trapped swarm into a production hive? Do you have any tips or advice on what has and has not worked for you? Thanks.


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## B52EW (Jun 3, 2013)

I've caught about 15 swarms. Minus the ones I've screwed up (setting the box up over an ant hill, failing to feed enough, etc.)...close to 100% (12) became production hives. Once caught feed, feed, feed...they will be wax making machines, be ready add frames quickly. 

You are just north of me. I plan to have traps out first week in March (a little earlier this year because of the warm spring). I've caught a swarm on Easter day the last three years running. Good Luck


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## enjambres (Jun 30, 2013)

I've never trapped a swarm_ per se,_ but I have hived two swarms that were still hanging on branches figuring out where to go. Both were installed in a deep with a frame that had a wee bit of uncapped brood from another hive and a frame with some stores for their first days' chow (kind of a Welcome Wagon approach). And the rest of the frames were undrawn but extra-waxed Piercos. Both hit the ground running and developed very nicely. And swarms are wax-drawing demons so if you keep ahead of them, and have any kind of flow to support it, they will make new comb at a furious pace.

The first was in 2015 and was a good production colony in 2016, in addition to being big enough to make a split last uear. The other was a small, slightly late swarm with a virgin queen hived in late June of 2016 which drew out and filled nearly 25 deep frames and looks strong for this spring. I only fed it a bit in the fall to get it up to my preferred winter weight. It is wintering in a triple 6 "nuc" arrangement.

All of my bees are from swarms, one way or another. The original three were swarms to my barn wall cavities in 2013. All the rest are their daughters and a granddaughter.

I don't see why a trapped swarm would be any different as long as they don't tarry in the trap too long and slow down their expansion into full-width equipment.

If at all possible, I hit new swarms with an OAV treatment as soon as I know they've settled in (i.e. after about three days), to clean up any travelers they've brought along. I also keep them in a place slightly removed from my main apiary to watch them for a month or so. I install robbing screens from the git-go, just to protect them from my Big Girls.

I have no risk from AHB in my area, so a swarm is almost certain to be nice bees from an overwintered feral colony or a lazy beekeeper.

Enj.


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## FlowerPlanter (Aug 3, 2011)

The earlier in the season the better, Bigger the better.

The later in the season the fewer and smaller the swarms get. 

Because of that I would start gathering my traps in Jul - Aug and put them up for the year. 

Waiting too long to retrieve a few they out grew their trap and swarmed, they take too many bees with them leaving a small sometime queenless beetle mess.

Transporting traps in the back of the truck can cause foundationless comb to break, a honey mess that can cause them to abscond and left with a beetle mess. I screen them with hard ware cloth with gorilla tape and put them on the seat next to me.


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## aunt betty (May 4, 2015)

Have had incredible good luck with swarms and cutouts. Really don't know what I'm doing right but will try and help.
One of the things I always do if I can is to give the newly caught swarm/cutout some stores (honey and pollen) , an empty drawn frame, and a frame with both capped and milk brood. (I can't always do that but I try)

The stores. It's obvious why I do that
The empty drawn frame. The quicker you can get that queen laying the better
The brood. It's there to give the nurses something to do plus it anchors the colony. They will not leave brood unless it's a catastrophe

The only absconds I've had were hives with them danged SBB's so I quit using them.


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## Georgiabeeman (Dec 10, 2015)

I would love to help but need more information as you can do this in many ways. Are they currently in a tree, a house or where. I would give different details depending where you are pulling them from. Send me a private message and I will be glad to help you more in detail.

Georgiabeeman


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## psm1212 (Feb 9, 2016)

Georgiabeeman said:


> I would love to help but need more information as you can do this in many ways. Are they currently in a tree, a house or where. I would give different details depending where you are pulling them from. Send me a private message and I will be glad to help you more in detail.
> 
> Georgiabeeman


They do not even exist at this moment. I have 5 swarm traps that I will be setting out later this month. Just want to be prepared in the event I catch some bees.


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## Hoot Owl Lane Bees (Feb 24, 2012)

I have been putting them in a deep 10 frame box with some drawn comb and feed, feed, feed.
After I confirm I have a laying Queen I put a piece of Queen excluder over the entrance.
This has stopped them from absconding several times.


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## Riverderwent (May 23, 2013)

psm1212 said:


> For those of you who are successful at trapping swarms, how successful are you at managing the trapped swarm into a production hive? Do you have any tips or advice on what has and has not worked for you? Thanks.


For me, around two-thirds of the swarms that move into a swarm trap become a production hive a year later. They can be very good or so so. I produce a fair amount of honey from primary swarms the first fall. A few virgins in secondary swarms don't make it back from a mating flight and rarely a new swarm will supersede the old queen and the new queen doesn't get established. August swarms from swarm traps are sketchy for me. For me, bees from cutouts are harder to keep from absconding, but those that don't abscond are my favorite bees to keep and use for splits.


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## Mr.Beeman (May 19, 2012)

98% of my early swarms produce very well the first year. I'll take the mutts from swarms over packaged bees every time. Last year I HAD to split an early swarm four times before season's end.


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## gww (Feb 14, 2015)

I caught 3 swarms last year. 2 may 6/7 and one june 2. I did not give them anything but an empty foundationless medium and the one I caught in june I newspaper combined with the smaller of the two I caught in may. I did not feed till about the end of july about a gallon of close to 2 to 1 sugar/water and again in sept. I gave them three more gal for one and six gal for the smallest one. One built out close to 20 frames and the other only had a little over 15 frames drawn and filled.

I put an about 15 lbs sugar block on them and they are still alive right now.

By july the swarms I had caught had just barily filled one medium hive body.

I aint mad though cause for right now they are still alive.
I did not get any honey first year though.

I will try again this year with fingers crossed.
Cheers
gww


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## D Coates (Jan 6, 2006)

The first year? That depends on when they were caught and if they were put on drawn or undrawn frames. Overall? No, I don't count on captured swarms to produce any honey for me the first year. Has it happened? Yep. When I've split a hive because it was threatening to swarm. I did a newspaper combine on the queenless split, introducing the queenright captured swarm and that hive was at production mode by heavy flow. I've done ti a few times, but it was a really early capture.

What I normally focus on with captured swarms or trap outs is getting them packed for overwintering in a single or double deep nuc configuration. Assuming they make it, the next year I have them in production or I split them (adding a queen) to additionally increase my nuc numbers. Nucs are VERY important for my operation as on hand queens, population infusions, and frames of brood, pollen and honey to be used wherever needed.


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## Reef Resiner (Jun 9, 2015)

All my feral swarms that were trapped in April produced for me that year with zero to minimal feeding. Anything after that needed to be fed as much as possible. April is usually an early time to catch a swarm here.

Caught 10 swarms with 3 traps last year. I gave almost half my swarms to family wanting to start beekeeping. All queens did well. Only 1 needed to be replaced out of the 10.

Best of luck.


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## Brad Bee (Apr 15, 2013)

I don't remember ever losing one that I put a frame of capped brood in the hive with them. I've lost them when I didn't do that.


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## GaryG74 (Apr 9, 2014)

I always use a solid bottom board and add a frame with open brood (first choice) or some capped brood (second choice). If I don't have brood available, I'll put a queen excluder between the bottom board and the brood box after all the bees are inside or I know the queen is inside and leave it for three days. By then they are building comb and the queen is laying, if mated. I take the excluder off after three days in case the queen is a virgin so she can take her mating flights and to keep it from trapping drones.

Depending on the size of the swarm, the early ones that are large may produce honey the first year but I don't remove any.


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## flyin-lowe (May 15, 2014)

I set 5 traps last year and caught 9 swarms. One was really late and didn't make it through November. 3 of the others were from trees and 5 more actually in the traps. I put all of them in an 8 frame deep box with as much comb as I have. Then I put another deep on them with any comb I have and the rest plastic foundation. As of today all of them are still alive. A few of them were small and I didn't expect them to make it. I didn't feed them or anything going into winter. I did put some dry sugar on the inner cover a few weeks ago. 

Another beek I know traps a lot of swarms and he doesn't feed treat or anything, he puts them in two deep boxes and leaves them alone until the next spring. He said he averages about 50% survival rate that way however he weeds out some of the weaker genetics, at least I assume that is his reasoning. I was planning on losing a few of the swarms over the winter but so far so good.

The only hive I have lost this winter is a swarm I caught 2 years ago. They never did grow much or produce anything.


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