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Author Topic: Swarm collection!  (Read 3235 times)

Offline asleitch

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Swarm collection!
« on: June 13, 2004, 06:54:12 am »
Our club has an official "Swarm coordinator". He is registered on our club website, and with the local council, and the local police. When a call is recieved, he allocates the collection to a member who is closest in the district, or often goes himself with another beekeeper who is also retired, if it's during the day, and everyone is at work

To recieve a swarm, all club members register a request, and then swarms are allocated by need. First dibs goes to any brand new member who doesn't have any colonies. Second dibs goes to any member who needs to replace a lost colony (e.g. died in the winter or not queen-right inthe spring), and finally anyone else who wants to increase their colonies.

Rather than using skeps and cardboard boxes etc, they prefer for you to provide a broodbox with frames, a floor already attached, an inner lid and a roof. I supplied three such boxes this year, and they have already caught two swarms. Unfortunately, because of my bad back, I have been unable to go an collect them, so they are being looked after (and fed) by one of the club members in his back garden.

Here is a could of photos.



And this is one of my hives, set up on a few plastic crates, to raise it up. You can just see the remainder of the bee going in.



Adam

Offline Beth Kirkley

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Swarm collection!
« Reply #1 on: June 13, 2004, 10:39:15 am »
That's a cool set up your club has. I like the idea. :)

Great photos too...
Beth