While working in the rose garden, I heard buzzing from over the fence in Paul Elerick's yard. I peeked over the fence and saw bees flying around between these two bushes. (The fence in the photo is in Paul's yard.)
I got permission to go into the yard, and sure enough, there was a swarm clustered on the larger bush.
I got an empty nuc box, taped the entrance shut and, while holding it awkwardly under the cluster, shook the branches vigorously.
Here are the bees in the box. Having failed to get the queen in past swarm capture attempts, I took a look in the bush to see how much of the cluster remained.
I decided to cut the branch (after getting Paul's permission) so I could shake all the bees into the box and be assured of having the queen. I went back to get my clippers. On my return I saw this:
You can see all the bees flying around, a mini-swarm. The queen must have been in the box since all the remaining bees had left the bush.
I put the lid on the box and left it for a couple of hours (while I went to Dinah's and inspected her hives with her). On my return, the bees were all in the box except for a few. I carried the nuc to our yard and placed it on the potting table. Then I took off the duct tape and put in five frames, four with foundation and one foundationless.
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| The bait box on the frame and the nuc on the table. Asparagus in the foreground |
Now, what will I do with this colony?
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