# I think I caught a swarm today



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

About 5:45 this after noon I was walking to my barn to feed my horses and half way there, I heard it. I stopped looked around and they were landing about 12 feet high in a mesquite tree in a double forked branch. Mind you that I have never kept bees and my nucs are coming 5/3/15. So I went and suited up, got a wooden nuc, put 4 frames in it and a one gallon feeder of sugar water and went to see what I could do. It was a small one, almost the size of a football. I backed my truck under it, put the nuc on top of my tool box, put a cardboard box on top of it and tried to shake the bees into the box. Over half of them flew and did not fall. The ones that fell, I poured into the top of the nuc. When the flyers settled, I repeated it over and over 3-4 times. I just could not get the softball sized group in the double fork. So after two and a half hours (yea it took me an hour to get dressed and make the sugar water and get brave) it was starting to get dark so I thought I should stop. I left the truck and nuc where it was and if they are all gone in the morning I am only out a gallon of syrup and a couple of hours but I enjoyed it. There were many drones. The girl were also pouring into the feeder. Were they hungry? A few had pollen. My ultrabreeze suit is now my best friend. Not sure if they were even trying to sting me but I was in the middle of a few thousand bee and felt good. I do now realize that I need a full length mirror for my porch so I can see if any bees are clinging to me before I go inside my house. All was good. I (they) entertained me. This was FUN!!!!


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

were they fanning at the box ?


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

I do not know what fanning is.


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

https://ibeekeepers.files.wordpress...2_20030524_laneside-swarm-of-bees-fanning.jpg


you can tell if they are fanning pheromone to call other bees in by their tail exposing their navasov gland as seen in this pic.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5021/5762615133_a60dc8a650.jpg


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

Ok. No I did not see them do that. Most of them stayed between the frames in the box. I also dribbled some syrup on the landing board and they were drinking it in droves. By that and the herds of bees going into the feeder, it seemed to me that they were hungry. I thought that they filled up on honey before they swarmed.


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

they do, but it is a limited supply. They will probably fill up and take off again. I wouldn't put feed in a box to entice them in. cobble up a bee vac tonight and suck them out of the fork. Or mist them with sugar water so they can't fly and scoop them up with your hand. Another trick is if you can get it close enough for them to walk in, they just might.


----------



## Freemind777 (Nov 23, 2014)

You need to get the queen in your box. They won't stay in if she is outside the box. My guess is she is in the fork of the tree.
Find the queen and cage her in the box. The workers and drones will follow.


----------



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

And you might find that by the end of the day tomorrow, They've all flown into you nuc box and called it home. I don't think you've gotten the queen in the box, but the bees know of the box now and may tell the queen to come on in.


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

I hope they did. I am up early and will take a peek before daylight. If they believe the weatherman, they will all go in the box as there is an 80% chance of thunderstorms today and 60% tomorrow!


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

Harley Craig said:


> they do, but it is a limited supply. They will probably fill up and take off again. I wouldn't put feed in a box to entice them in. cobble up a bee vac tonight and suck them out of the fork. Or mist them with sugar water so they can't fly and scoop them up with your hand. Another trick is if you can get it close enough for them to walk in, they just might.


Thanks for the help. I went out before daylight with a flashlight and ZERO bees in the nuc. They were back in the double fork. I cannot get a vacuum ready. I sprayed them with syrup, scooped them with my double gloves hands and put in the nuc again but not before I sprayed syrup on all the frames. Can't hurt right. This morning was more like work because I could not see very good as I needed both my hands to do what I was doing. Yesterday was fun. So as an "edit" (wink wink) to my post title........I thought wrong. Will see if plan B works after all, it is going to rain very heavy in a little while and tomorrow as well.


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

RayMarler said:


> And you might find that by the end of the day tomorrow, They've all flown into you nuc box and called it home. I don't think you've gotten the queen in the box, but the bees know of the box now and may tell the queen to come on in.


Yup they are all in the box. This morning there was good activity and no bees left on the tree. I think that the rain had a lot (if not all) to do with them moving in. Do I need to do anything with them or just leave them alone for a while? How long before I should open the box and see what they are doing and if there is a queen? Thanks.


----------



## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

Move them to their permanent location in your bee yard as soon as possible, preferably at sunrise or sunset/dusk, so that you have most of the bees in the box. You can transfer them to a hive body box as the weather clears for you, but move the trap box to the location they will end up at as soon as possible. This way, they won't be orienting on the swarm location so much yet, you want them to orient on the new permanent location ASAP. Nice luck and good job!


----------



## Harley Craig (Sep 18, 2012)

awesome did they go in on their own, or did you scoop some in?


----------



## jwdeeming (Apr 22, 2014)

What a great story. I really hope you succeed! I'm putting traps out for the first time this year - what a fun experiment!


----------



## philip.devos (Aug 10, 2013)

Great job, STEXJOHN! I am sure there were many readers who did not reply to this thread. Great suspense!


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

Harley Craig said:


> awesome did they go in on their own, or did you scoop some in?


The last ones went in on their own. I think they were scared of the heavy rain that was coming.


----------



## SouthTexasJohn (Mar 16, 2015)

About half of the rascals left Sunday afternoon. The nerve...I wined them and dined them and they just up and leave. I wonder if the ones that stayed behind are too old to keep making these flights or they were told to stay??? I did not get a chance to look today to see if I have a queen but likely I do not. Tomorrow will tell. Rats!


----------

