This spring we had several friends catch honey bee swarms. We were intrigued by this but didn’t know how to go about actually finding a swarm to catch. There are already several beekeepers who post ads on the local Craigslist looking for honey bee swarms to capture. The usual time for honey bees to swarm is spring and early summer. Well that time passed us by with no swarm to capture. Then two weeks ago our luck changed!
We were picking cherries at our neighbor’s house when she just happened to go looking in her apple tree to see how many apples they had this year. She noticed a lot of bees and thought it was a hornets’ nest. My husband and I stepped in for a closer look and were thrilled when we realized what we were looking at was a swarm of honey bees! They were all clustered around one of the branches of the apple tree. Our neighbor gave her consent for us to capture the swarm and take it back to our property to be placed into a hive. We of course promised them lots of honey in the fall!
My husband ran home to get his bee suit (we invested in this beekeeping suit after getting stung a bunch last year with a cheaper suit!) some tools and cardboard boxes. Once he came back and suited up, he got to work. The branch the bees were clustered on was small enough and easily accessible so my husband decided that the easiest way to caputre the swarm would be to cut the branch off. Once the branch was sawed off, my husband carefully placed it into a large cardboard box.
We were pretty sure the queen was inside the cluster of bees so we didn’t want to disturb it too much. Luckily it was evening and the temperatures were cooling off so most of the bees were already back with the colony. Once the branch with the cluster of bees was placed in a cardboard box, my husband closed it up and taped it closed so they couldn’t escape.
The box was then carefully taken back to our property where my husband poked some small air holes in it. We didn’t have a hive and frames ready so my husband decided to keep the bees in the cardboard box overnight while he worked in his shop to build them a hive and frames.
The next morning once it warmed up, my husband took the new hive and frames out to where our other bee hives are. Since it is already half way through the season and this new colony of bees doesn’t have any food in their hive, my husband put in a frame of honey from another bee hive. He also put in the feeder like this one with some sugar water to make sure they had ample food available. We wanted to do everything possible to make them happy and stay in their new home!
He took the cardboard box full of honey bees out to the hive and had a spray bottle of sugar water ready to spray the bees down as he slowly opened the box. Once the bees were sprayed down (and slowed down!), he carefully poured the box of bees into the new hive. Some of the bees needed to be brushed into the hive off the branch. The cardboard box was left sitting next to the new hive for a day to make sure all the honey bees had a chance to migrate into their new hive.
We didn’t want to disturb the honey bees too much and make them swarm again, so we’ve been watching them from the house with our binoculars. We can see them coming and going so it appears they like their new home!
When we first saw this swarm at our neighbor’s property, we wondered if it might have been from one of our hives. My husband did a thorough hive inspection of all our hives and none of them appear to have swarmed. These honeybees may have come from someone else’s hives in the area or they could have been a “wild” hive having made their home in nature somewhere prior to swarming.
Capturing a honey bee swarm was an amazing experience. It is also a cost effective way to increase our hives since new packages of bees cost over $100. After this experience, next spring I plan to spread the word to friends and neighbors to keep us posted about any honey bee swarms they see that we can capture!
Have you ever captured a honey bee swarm?
That is so cool! Our son is the beekeeper in our home and he let me go with him once to catch a swarm to take photos. It was very interesting. I’m glad the swarm wasn’t from one of your hives, too.
Interesting. I have wanted to start a bee hive for years, but am not sure where to start. My grand dad had them, but I was too young and spent too little time around him to learn much. Several years ago a friend and I found a swarm. He showed me that after they settled for the day, you could “pet” the swarm. Felt like velvet.
Any suggestions on getting started would be welcome.
Hello Charlie. My suggestion is to get in contact with a local bee club. Maybe a local college or continuing education center offers a class in beekeeping. One thing for sure, the Internet is a host of information. As a beginner though, there is too much information. The saying goes “ask five beekeepers a question and you’ll get ten answers”. Put a ad on CL and maybe a local beekeeper will take you under thier wing. It can be overwhelming at first, but remember bees have been taking care of themselves for eons, we just manipulate them for our own selfish purposes. It’s quite an adventure! Don’t be fraud to get your feet wet!
Good luck!
I’ve just discovered a honey bee hive in my barn. How would I get the bees to transfer to a bee box? By the way, I love your newsletter.
What a find- honey bees in your barn! Can you see if it is an existing colony with comb? A honey bee swarm will just be a big cluster of bees without any comb built since they are just on the move looking for a new home. Capturing a honey bee swarm is a different process than what you would do if you wanted to move an existing bee colony that already has comb built. Your best bet might be to contact a local beekeeper in your area and have them help you with it. Most states have a list of beekeepers who are willing to be contacted by people looking to move honey bees. Good luck!
Yes, I can see the combs. They have actually built a hive in a wooden spool (cable spool). There is no way to open the spool without destroying the hive. Unfortunately I live out in the country and the local beekeepers live in larger towns and no one wants to drive out to my area.
Did you ever get your honey bees taken care of. I am always interested in bees. Where or what area of Montana do you live in .
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We captured the swarm and put them in a hive. They were doing well but that winter we lost all our hives which was devastating. That same winter several of our friends who have hives also lost theirs, it was a tough winter to be a beekeeper. We are in western Montana.
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Picked up over 30 swarms in uk last year , from sofa cushion on a trailer in a travellers site to a colony on a lords window ledge. had an amazing season , and so looking forward too this year 🙂