>>> [log in to unmask] 05/21/03 04:21PM >>>
Peter Edwards said:

>I think we collect swarms as a service - certainly not for gain!

Here is another perspective:  a package of bees from Weaver Apiaries in Navasota (30 miles down the road) costs about $50 plus gas and time to pick it up (or shipping).  A swarm of bees is "free" but can be worth the $50 (plus gas, time, etc.)  I have never once in my life bought a package of bees from anybody in the world.  I started my beekeeping with a swarm that emerged from a friend's hive who had good quality stock.  By the way, so many people around here where I live buy bees from the Weavers that most of my swarms are headed by Weaver queens anyway in my opinion.  So my opinion is that when I go out and catch a good sized swarm, I just saved/made $50, along with the opportunity to look like a hero and educate some people about bees and their behavior.  I do it for fun (because I enjoy it), but also to repopulate my empty hives.  I do buy replacement queens at times when I find I have picked up a swarm that is too "hot".

Having picked up numerous swarms (most successfully), here is my "trade secret" (which I credit to Dr. Rodney Holloway, Texas A&M University Extension Entomology Specialist, who is also a beekeeper and a friend):  I get a "tall" cardboard box (about 2 feet tall) that has a footprint of about 1 ft X 2 ft, and a lid (a shallow box) that will fit over the top.  I cut off the top flaps and tape the flaps on the bottom so bees don't get under them.  Then I cut a little door flap about 1 inch X 1 inch (cut on two sides and the bottom) so I can open it from the bottom.  The uncut side on the top acts as a hinge.  I cut the door a little below ½ way up the end of the box.  I also poke a few holes around the sides of the box for ventilation.

So I take this box with the "door" and top open and scoop or shake as many of the bees as possible into the box through the top.  I then set the box down on the ground near where the swarm was, putting the lid on the top and orienting it with the small door flap directed toward the location of the original swarm.  What usually happens is that a lot of bees start fanning at the trap door and if I have the queen inside the box, the remainder of the bees joins them and enters the box.  They hang from the top and side of the box inside.

Sometimes the bees all go in within about 15 minutes, but sometimes it takes 45 minutes to an hour.  If I don't have time to wait, I leave it there and pick it up in the evening after work.  Another hint is to take a brick to weight the top and box so the wind doesn't blow it down (as happened the last time I did this--blew down the box and blew off the lid).

After I get all the bees I am going to get to go inside (there are always a "few" that either won't go in or haven't made it back yet) I just push the door closed and walk away with the box.  Now that I've read what some others have written, I plan to add a small cone on the inside of the door so that the bees can go in but not be able to come back out.  That will make it even easier, I would think, but the "the proof of the pudding is in the eating."  I will test it and see if it actually does work better.

When I get the bees back home, just prior to installing them in a hive (and I usually do it in late afternoon or just before dusk) I will gently "slam" the box on the ground hard enough to dislodge the bees from the top and sides of the box and knock them down to the bottom.  I then quickly take off the lid and dump/shake the bees into the hive box.  Most every time it is successful but once in a while they will leave in a day or two.  I suspect that the most common cause for leaving is if I somehow catch a queenless swarm.  Who knows the other reasons.  There are a lot of possibilities.  Often a feeder will help encourage them to stay too, but sometimes not.  So far this spring I've "made" about $350 for very little effort and cost on my part.  And, oh yes, I take a jar or two of my local honey along with me when I go to pick up a swarm and ask if they would like to buy some.  It has a nice label with my address on it in case they would like to buy some more later.

Layne Westover, College Station, Texas

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