A week ago I received a swarm call from a fellow beek (beekeeper). I love getting swarm calls! The homeowner went through a lot of calls that finally trickled down to me. It's not everyday you see a swarm of bees in your yard! (well, some of us anyway) ;) My fellow beek told me that I would need to take my bee vac.....well, when I got the call, I was in such a hurry I chose not to take it. Rule #1~ Listen to your elders! ;) This little hive took a while to get, all because I was in a hurry. My husband and I have gotten swarms before from bushes and didn't use a vac, but this bush was different.
This little bush was a small tree a while back and she has a story ;)
It turned out that I knew the homeowner of the swarm call!
When I got there no one was home and the location of the swarm was awesome! I went to work. After a few minutes of looking for the queen, I found her but I also noticed most of the bees were gone! They were flying in a swirl and before I could catch the queen she too had taken flight!
What you can't see in the picture is, to the right is a big oak tree, yep, there they went high above! To high for me! I was distraught and mad at myself for not bringing the beevac!
One thing I did do though, was bring a frame of honey! ;) I put it in a Nuc by the swarm when I first got there and half of the girls were still feeding and didn't notice the others had left! Whew! So many things were happening that morning with air pressures and such....there was a storm brewing and it was coming fast. I'm not exactly sure why they decided to come back down BUT I am so thankful they did! The girls that were in the box feeding had went back to the trunk of the bush and before we knew it the queen and others came back too.
This time, I acted fast and caught the queen in a catcher and put her inside the box at the entrance and put the lid on. A lot of them went in before the storm and in between down pours I would run out and coax more in. Eventually the storm past and I got all but a few that didn't want to come with us.
This is a bee vac. It operates at a very low suction so the bees aren't harmed at all. The screen cage fits inside the bucket.
I checked on the girls the other day and they are doing great! Queen bee has laid the honey frame full of eggs and I also found seven queen cells pulled out with an egg in each cell! I'll have to keep an eye on these girls! ;)
Can you see the queen? She's in the lower center with bees circling her, they are facing her and she has the larger black knot behind her head. (my niece calls this her crown) Very fitting I think! ;)
All tucked in.....Home Sweet Home ;)
I saved the Papa Tree story for last, because to me it is a Sweet story of a Father and his Daughter and I always save the best for last ;)
Papa had Alzheimer's and was visiting/staying with Cindy. The tree (at the time) wasn't planted where they wanted it to be, so she and her Dad set out to replant it. When she looked over, her Dad was digging with the handle end instead of the shovel end, she helped him turn it around and they replanted the crape myrtle tree.
Now she has a tree they call the Papa Tree! Sweet!
Until next time.....
Bee Bizzy! ;)
Plant some memories! ;)
Julie
It turned out that I knew the homeowner of the swarm call!
When I got there no one was home and the location of the swarm was awesome! I went to work. After a few minutes of looking for the queen, I found her but I also noticed most of the bees were gone! They were flying in a swirl and before I could catch the queen she too had taken flight!
What you can't see in the picture is, to the right is a big oak tree, yep, there they went high above! To high for me! I was distraught and mad at myself for not bringing the beevac!
One thing I did do though, was bring a frame of honey! ;) I put it in a Nuc by the swarm when I first got there and half of the girls were still feeding and didn't notice the others had left! Whew! So many things were happening that morning with air pressures and such....there was a storm brewing and it was coming fast. I'm not exactly sure why they decided to come back down BUT I am so thankful they did! The girls that were in the box feeding had went back to the trunk of the bush and before we knew it the queen and others came back too.
This time, I acted fast and caught the queen in a catcher and put her inside the box at the entrance and put the lid on. A lot of them went in before the storm and in between down pours I would run out and coax more in. Eventually the storm past and I got all but a few that didn't want to come with us.
I saved the Papa Tree story for last, because to me it is a Sweet story of a Father and his Daughter and I always save the best for last ;)
Papa had Alzheimer's and was visiting/staying with Cindy. The tree (at the time) wasn't planted where they wanted it to be, so she and her Dad set out to replant it. When she looked over, her Dad was digging with the handle end instead of the shovel end, she helped him turn it around and they replanted the crape myrtle tree.
Now she has a tree they call the Papa Tree! Sweet!
Until next time.....
Bee Bizzy! ;)
Plant some memories! ;)
Julie
