Springtime In The Rockies...

[Lone]

...The rocky harsh inland of Queensland, that is.

As it is 19 days into Spring, a couple of people know to call me if they find a swarm, so I'd like to be prepared.  We caught one swarm last year but it has survived more due to perseverence on the bees' part than knowledge on mine. 

If I capture a swarm, how do I arrange the super, and should I use a small nuc box rather than a 10 frame?  I have heard that you don't put honey frames in for a swarm.  I have a few spare drawn comb, but not many.  In your opinion, what is the best way of arranging the super from one side to the other, with stickies/brood frames/plain foundation etc?

Do swarm kings such as JP leave it in quarantine for a while to make sure it doesn't have AFB?

Lone

[Kathyp]

swarms are like packages.  they really love to build comb.  if i have a frame of drawn foundation i will give them one.   the other frames will be starter strips.  you'll be amazed at how quickly they'll build them out.

i use a 10 frame box right from the start.  you don't need to worry as much about space if it's warm unless you have a wax moth problem.  in that case, you might want to start a really small swarm in a nuc.

you can use a queen excluder between your bottom board and super if you wish.  i only do it when i catch a swarm close to home.  i don't want them taking off again if i can help it. 

i usually feed a swarm for the first couple of days because it helps anchor them and they are hungry.  if there is a good flow, a couple of days is enough.

i leave them alone for about a week, then check for eggs. 

i don't quarantine mine.  i  know some people do.

as soon as you have them in the box, get your frames in and your space right.  because they love to build comb, you can have a real mess quickly if you don't.

good luck.  take pictures!!!!!

[Lone]

Thanks Kathy for all the advice.  I've never used starter strips.  Would I cut foundation into strips and put a couple of inches at the top of every frame?

I don't think I can put in a queen excluder as the bottom boards have been screwed on.  Does anyone ever put bars at the hive entrance to do the same thing?

I still haven't had a call about any swarms!  I do know where there is a wild hive in a tree, but I'm waiting until I have enough spare honey frames to help them settle in.  One colony we took didn't stay 24 hours, but I think they might have joined with a weaker hive, because their numbers swelled after that.

Lone

[fish_stix]

Lone; Kathy gave you some good info. If you think about it, swarms are moving to a new home and are expecting/prepared to build comb when they get to the new place. They'll build new comb overnight; I've caught many swarms and had them build enough comb for the queen to start laying the next day! As for the mechanics, we usually capture them in an 8 frame box unless it's a small swarm; we only use foundation but a frame of drawn comb will get the queen started laying sooner, and we start feeding 2:1 syrup immediately. For your particular bottom board setup I would cut some plastic excluder the right size to close the entrance completely and staple it on; remove it after the queen is laying good. We have boxes already set up with the excluder in place for catching swarms. So far this year my son and I have caught over 20 good swarms and have had only 2 of them leave again. For the smaller swarms we drop in a couple frames of capped/emerging brood to get them built up quickly. We don't do any cutouts but catching swarms is well worth the effort!

[asprince]

Lone,

I love swarms. I prefer them over packages. They are wax building machines! Feeding them syrup and some drawn comb puts them in an even higher gear. I size the box to the swarm size. Most go into a 10 frame deep from the start. Small size up to double fist go into a nuc to start. Five gallon pail size go into two 10 frame boxes to start. A excluder on the bottom is usually not necessary. Out of the 150+ swarms we hived last year, only two or three left after hiving.

Good luck, Steve