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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: "Peter Smith" <psmith AT leaptec.com>
  • To: "'Orange County, NC Beekeepers'" <ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [ocba] SWARM questions - Those left behind.
  • Date: Thu, 8 May 2008 08:46:41 -0400

I recently hived a fairly large swarm of bees from a neighbor’s yard which was wrapped around a small tree trunk about 15 feet off the ground. They are doing well in a nucleus box and seem active and happy. There is some consternation on the part of my neighbor, who is a little afraid of bees, that I did not “get” them all, there remain a few hundred in the original spot, and they seem to have drawn a small comb. I have already made a return trip to try capturing more of them, but because they are actually quite high up and wrapped around the trunk, it was hard to shake and brush them all into the collecting box while standing on a ladder.

 

I have a couple of questions for those who may have done this a few more times than I have: a) What would you expect to happen to the unfortunate ones inevitably left behind when a swarm is captured? b) Is it surprising that they will try to draw comb? c) Does this indicate perhaps I missed collecting the queen (I think this is highly unlikely due to the statistics involved and the condition of the new hive, but I did not actually find her on the frames in the nucleus box when I looked). d) What would you suggest I do to remove the remaining bees from the tree so that my neighbor has peace of mind?

 

Thanks in advance for your advice.

 

Peter Smith

Hillsborough

 

 




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