Our weather is still very wet with occasional breaks when the sun lets us know it is still there. One of those days happened last Wednesday. Joshua was looking out the front window when he saw thousands of bees. It was a swarm.
Michael was on a conference call so it was up to me to figure out what to do. I got on the computer and looked up Willamette Valley Beekeepers association. Thankfully, Mike was home. He helped me, over multiple phone calls.
Usually, when a swarm happens the bees go quite a distance away. This swarm came out of the hive Nancy bought us and they didn’t go far.
Mike asked me if the swarm, which had clustered by then, was as big as a football. I told him it was actually the size of THREE footballs. Then he asked if I could easily get to the cluster. I said, “Sure, it’s about six inches off the ground.”
It was a warm day, and I needed to find a box in which to collect the bees. Because it was warm I needed to poke holes in the box. Nicholas helped me get the box ready. Actually, Nicholas helped me with everything that day.
A swarm wasn’t something we were ready for. I really didn’t have anywhere to put the bees once I collected them. In the end, I ended up taking a box off the new hive and added it to the hive that swarmed. Mike gave me advice and then it was time to just get it done.
I needed to cut some branches off since the only box I could find was pretty big. The bees didn’t care even when I got close to them to cut the branches.
Somehow, I managed to get the box under most of the bees. THWACK! I hit the branch with a hammer and into the box they fell. Mostly.
Some of the bees decided to fly around me. Amazingly, with the jacket and hood on, it isn’t scary at all. I felt something crawling up my leg (might not have been a bee) which made me realize that in my rush to not lose the swarm, I had not changed into jeans and boots. The great thing about a swarm is the bees are incredibly docile. They don’t have a hive to protect, and their tummies are full of honey in preparation for a long flight. It was surreal but not scary.
The box I had made it more difficult to get all the bees out. Flaps were not taped down so I had to reach in and open them up then flip it over to knock the bees out. I had to do that a few times to make sure they were all out.
That yellow box I am dumping them into is the one I added from another hive. Basically, I put them back in the hive they swarmed from. Not a lot of choice.
At this point, I drive up toWilsonville to Ruhl Bee Supply to buy another hive. That was a three-hour trip. When I got home there was a small size cluster on the same branch. Maybe the ones I missed or maybe another swarm. I knocked those into the box then added them to the new hive.
In the end, we were able to make another hive with that swarm. Michael and I discussed how everything went that day and we decided to have extra parts for our beehives so we don’t find ourselves having to “make do”.
Our preferred hive configuration is a base, two deep supers, then two medium supers. Today, on my way back home from Portland, we bought what we needed for each hive to have those four boxes. Some stuff was out of stock but we will get those couple of things within a week.
This way, we can get the boxes painted before we need them.
Do any of you remember the 1978 movie called The SWARM? It had quite the star-studded cast. I miss all those “B-movies”.
I’m grateful Joshua saw the swarm. I’m so thankful for Nicholas’ help that day and the days following. I’m really happy that the bees didn’t go far and I was able to make a new hive. Now we have three hives.
BEEEEE happy,
Karen
How interesting. So the swarm with it’s own queen decided it was too crowded in the original hive/box so they were trying to relocate? Is this something you can predict in the future knowing how long this swarm will be in the new box? How long it will take for them to max out the space in the new box.
Expecting anymore goat babies this Spring? How did your ducks/geese/chickens do with this horrible winter we had, actually some of these rain storms seem winter-like.
Yes, we can be watching the hives and when 7 out of the 10 screens are full, add another box. I don’t want my hives to be overly tall (in the post I was actually standing on a ladder to reach that top yellow box) What we will do when they get full and are as tall as we want, we is split the hive.
It might have been that the hive hatched a new queen, the old queen died or it was just too full. I’m such a novice so I’m not really sure what happened. It is normal and thankfully I got most of the bees into a new hive. Now we are waiting to see if there is a queen in there. If it is a new queen she will need to fly away to mate with others bees. They won’t do that until the weather is at least 70° which could be tomorrow or the next day.
Always something new in life to learn about!
Take care,
Karen
So if a new queen is there and flies away will other bees go with her? Or does she return to the new box you provided? I’ve watched enough nature shows but apparently didn’t retain all of the info. Thankfully tomorrow the temps look good for bees and the rest of us sick of rain and cold. Have you planted anything in the garden? I decided to live dangerously today and plant a couple of tomatoes in raised bed….time will tell 🙂
No. She goes on her own and gets bred by different bees. The bees from the hive are “family”. Basically, she mates with a different gene pool.Then she goes back to that hive.Yes, the weather is supposed to get better. I’m not holding my breath.
I have twice now planted my cold crop. So far only the beets have started to grow. I think the seeds keep drowning. It is frustrating. Our starts on the grow rack look great though.
Enjoy the weekend,
Karen
Karen, This is such an exciting post. As a former bee-keeper, I am amazed at how you negociated what would have a pretty dangerous and adventourous accomplishment. Never had to deal with a swarm, but think I would have waited for someone (a local beekeeper) to show up. You are remarkable, that was very impressive.
You colorful boxes make me smile. I miss my bees, but love that you have them.
It was really wonderful. Unfortunately, I don’t know of any beekeepers in our area. Michael and I will attend the next beekeepers meeting next Monday. Unfortunately, it is about 45 min. away. However, when I was picking up my order at Ruhl Bee one of the guys there actually keeps hives in some of the vineyards in our area. He has agreed to stop by sometime when he is in the area and take a look at our hives and see if we are doing it correctly. I am on the waiting list for the Oregon State University Master Beekeepers group. 2017 was full so I’ll have to wait until 2018.
Miss you two.
Love,
Karen
You did a great job with that swarm! It was bigger than any I have had to deal with. I feel kinda guilty cuz I knew the hive was pretty full, even if I did remove two frames of brood a month earlier. I know also that a really tall hive is not the best situation; I split one last week with the help of a beekeeper friend cuz it was 4 hive bodies high and I need a step stool to inspect it. I might need to split it again. What is happening with the original hive? Are the bees remaining in the hive raising a new queen? I’m going to phone you soon!
It didn’t go as I would have liked. But, I got most of them. I talked with a guy at Ruhl Bee and he has hives in vineyards near us so he will stop by some time and take a look at the hives to see if they are doing well. Today should be warm enough for a young queen to fly away for mating. Then we have to wait to look for eggs. The good thing is if we need to buy a queen we should be able to do it before the Summer Solstice. I’ve been told that a hive is more willing to accept a new queen if it is before the Summer Solstice. I bought a bunch of extra boxes just to have on hand.
Hope to see you soon,
Karen
Wow Karen, this is a cool story! You did a great job! I also enjoyed reading through all the comments as other people asked the questions I was wondering about. Bees are pretty fascinating. As I was looking at these photos, I was thinking better you than me (he he). A little over a week ago on the first nice day, I had a swarm of carpenter ants that came into Connor’s room through the window drains looking for a new nest. It was a very strange occurrence that I had not experienced before. There must have been 30 of them on the inside window screen and it certainly startled me. I shut the window fast and trapped them between the window and the screen until I could figure out what to do. Then I sucked them all up into my vacuum. Unfortunately, Connor is still not wanting to sleep in his room yet. Strange weather we are having that is affecting all sorts of things. All the best to you and the boys!
I can handle bees. Bees pollinate, they make honey. I’ll put up with bees. Carpenter ants. NOPE. I don’t blame Connor. Do you think it is all taken care of or will you need an exterminator?
You guys take care too. Enjoy the sunshine.
Hugs,
Karen
My oh my Karen, you truly are a renaissance woman. Just when I think you have surprised me with your charm and pluck, you impress me again with your bravery. I always enjoy your wit that you infuse in your posts. I’ve missed them. Love to all of you new apiarists. My compliments to the photographer who captured it all as well.
Aunt Ginny
AWW, thank you. I’ve wanted bees for a long time. They are helpful and of course….honey! Nicholas took all the pictures. I was so grateful for his help that whole day. I will be going to my first Willamette Valley Beekeepers Association meeting tonight. I hope they have time for all of my questions. 🙂
Danny and Karren came down this weekend (belated Mother’s day). Danny is doing so well. Yes, his memory of anything current is still non-existent, but his attitude is wonderful. We had fun. They left here on Sunday to go spend a couple nights at the beach. Very happy for them.
Hope all is well with you and yours.
Hugs,
Karen