Very interesting. Thank you.
On Sun, 28 Apr 2019 at 9:43 am, Paul Honigmann <dmarc-noreply@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Complex issue. Some answers:
In general if you catch a swarm in a box, then drive it home it will be
shaken up by the drive and quite agitated when you get it home. If you try
to hive it immediately it WILL abscond or at least fly into a high tree as
it feels threatened. So you put it somewhere dark, and cool like a garage
for at least a few hours.
I have caught swarms early afternoon, put them in the garage and hived
them the same night.
If I don't know the origin of the swarm and suspect it could have been
hanging around a few days, I try to hive it that evening because it may be
low on honey stores.
Some people advocate leaving swarms (particularly large rambunctious ones
like a fresh prime swarm) a day or two so they are low on stores and have
to take what you offer them rather than scout round for a better home.
You could of course put a queen excluder in the hive /on its entrance to
stop the queen getting away, but I favour offering them the choice. If they
really don't want to be in my apiary, fair enough.
Some people advocate feeding a swarm after hiving it, others don't. I
prefer not to, but I did it once when I hived a small swarm the householder
told me had been on a bush for a couple of days, and it was going to rain
so I knew they would be unable to forage for a few days.
Cardboard boxes aren't suitable for permanent homes so I would move them
out of a cardboard box ASAP. As mentioned above some people might want them
in there for a couple of days to reduce their stores / options, in this
case a bar for them to build comb on means they don't waste their resources
building comb which will be discarded. They will build comb hanging from
the flat cardboard roof!
I favour a cardboard box for easy capture and as immediate a transfer as
possible to a real hive, e.g. that night. I made a small wooden box with
bars for capturing swarms and, you know, it is much trickier to hold and so
on while trying to get bees in it up a ladder in a bushy tree 8) I
made it after an awkward experience where I got a swarm and promised it to
someone, and they couldn't pick it up for a couple of days. I thought OK,
maybe I need a proper "temporary holding cell" with bars so if this happens
again I can just say "here they are, they've been in a week, it's a
mini-hive. Take it home and transfer the bars to your full size hive."
You do not give the bees the opportunity to fly from a cardboard box as it
is just a temporary transit home and you do not want them thinking they
live there, it will make it trickier to get them out.
Opinions vary - many techniques work because in the end, the bees *want*
to live in the most suitable cavity - but I am trying to give reasons why
you do things so you can adapt to circumstances like weather. Bars are only
needed if they're going to be in a temporary box for several days. Did I
miss any of your questions?
Paul
‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐
On Sunday, 28 April 2019 08:00, Kerry Dawson <kerrydawson99@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
wrote:
Hi, I'd like some advice /clarification about the time between capture of
a swarm and introduction to the hive (tbh in my case). Accepting that
weather conditions will have an impact, how long should / can the bees be
kept in a swarm box and should they be allowed to fly during this period?
I've come across videos where the swarm box had some bars added, to get the
bees building comb, which is then transferred to the tbh a week or so
later. With this method, the bees are flying in and out of the swarm box,
which is positioned close to the intended hive. However, I will likely
receive a swarm in a cardboard box, so I'd like to know the method to use
here. My impression, from what I have read, is that the bees are not given
an opportunity to fly. Have I misunderstood this?
Thank you for any advice.
Kerry
