5/3/2024
This has been a pretty great day. Linda and I had planned to pickup the swarm trap in Boone County that had recently been populated by a good sized swarm.
Wild swarm in Columbia
Around 4:30 our plans were changed when Brian called up about a swarm he had been notified about in Columbia. We said sure and after getting our stuff together off we went.
We met Brian at a gas station in Fulton, combined our gear and of we went to the destination. Along the way, we made plans for how to approach and capture the swarm. So, at least, we had a tentative plan.
At the location of the swarm we met the owner of the property and his kids. He was concerned about the overall status of honey bees and wanted to do his part to help. We were happy to oblige.
The swarm looked to be relatively small, maybe 3000 thousand bees or so. A good size for our first capture.
The video below is the first attempt.
We actually got more the first time that I had hoped for. Off to a good start.
Now we had to wait a bit for the remaining swarm to calm down before we tried again. It took several attempts to capture the bees, but we prevailed.
Linda had to manage the box the bees were being put into, so there are no pictures until the swarm was in the capture box.
We were finished much earlier than expected, so we drove back to Fulton, dropped Brian off, and went home to get the bees in their new home.
All things considered, this was somewhat anticlimactic – though it still had an element of excitement. I just took the net off the capture box, placed it in the hive, took the lid off, shut the hatch, and walk away.
Picking up the Boone County swarm box
The best time to pick up an occupied swarm trap is dusk because the worker bees should be back with the colony. Dusk was around 8:00 and we finished with the wild swarm at around 6:30, so there was some down time.
We got to the trap around 8:15 and noticed a few stragglers coming into the hive. We waited a bit and then grabbed the trap, loosened the strap, and carried it to the car. And then we hung up a replacement.
At the end of the day, we went from one colony to three.
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