Two weeks ago, I got a call at work that one of my hives was swarming.
 I rushed home, and sure enough, there was a football sized ball on the
branch about 20 feet straight above the hives.  To make a long story
short, I climbed up and shook the branch, and they flew away.  :-(
 
   Last Sunday, I was working on the car, and the kids came running
again!  They were in a different tree this time, and I'd had a bit of
time to think.  (Sometimes...)  I threw a rope over the branch they were
on and pulled up a 5 gallon plastic bucket squirted with some honey right
under them.  Shook the branch again and got a decent sized clump to drop
in.  Lowered them down and dumped into a hive body.  (Always have an
extra!!!)  Tried it a few more times, with less success each time.
 
   Then my daughter says "Why don't you just pull the hive body up?"
Tied the rope around it four ways, and tried that.  Magic!  I shook the
branch to get some on top of the frames, and, Voila!, in they marched!
Inside of ten minutes, there weren't any more on the branch!  Lowered the
box, added top and bottom, and now have a new hive!   (I know, I
shouldn't have let them get so crowded, but...)
 
   Catching a swarm is a neat feeling!
 
Gerry Visel
Winnebago, IL  USA