Mailing list for the Person County Beekeepers Association, Roxboro, NC

[donnasteen AT yahoo.com]

Caught my first swarm today. Stoked!

Happened to be outside and noticed a huge cloud of bees in the air.  Went to get prepared but when I returned not a bee in sight anywhere!  Walked our property looking, but didn't see anything.  But on my way to tell my husband who was working in the woods, I passed by my ornamental cherry tree and heard bees--although not very loud.  But with no blooms this time of year I was suspicious.  Sure enough--at the "top" of the tree there was the swarm!  My dear husband got the extension ladder and somehow secured it near the swarm even with no large branches to hold it!!  He went up, trimmed away small branches, but realized his loppers were too small to cut the branch with the swarm--and besides it was a long way down to maneuver a branch of bees! So I got an large, empty cardboard box handed it up to him and told him to shake the branch of bees into the box.  He did but not without 3 stings.  He handed me the box, I shook them into my 8-frame medium super--since I use two 8-frame supers for 1 hive body.  Then my husband noticed the small protruding branch still had a cluster of bees.  Since I feared the queen might be still in the tree, I wanted that cluster.  Claude said I could climb the ladder--it was safe for me!  So I did, shook them into the box, handed it to him to shake onto the hive.  Other than not putting on the inner cover--all is well.  I've given them sugar water and closed all but a small entrance--to encourage them to "set up housekeeping" first.  I didn't put them where my hive that died had been, but chose a new place.  When I have lifted the outer cover to look lots of bees are on the underside of the cover and on the tops of the frames.  However bees are coming and going at the entrance. 

Was thinking to peek tomorrow to see if they have gone down into the frames so I can put the inner cover on.  If not, wondering if I should shake or smoke them down so I can put on the inner cover?

Any suggestions?

I know this isn't exciting to old timers, but I just had to share!

Donna Steen