Read the situation, and roll with it.
This post at the pleasanton school had bees hanging below a 2 inch
diameter branch that can't conveniently be shaken
to get the bees to drop into equipment.
Three approaches come to mind. Which depends on your own experience,
resources available (in your bee mobile), and the situation.
a) Use a 16 oz or 24 oz or 32 oz soft-drink cup (plastic or paper
are fine) to SCOOP bees carefully from the cluster on the branch,
and pour gently into the catch-box.
The first cup from the bottom of the swarm may not have the queen in
it.
By the third or fourth scoop-full you're likely to have the queen.
You can tell she's in the catch-box by the way the bees behave on
top of the frames in your catch box. Fanning.
They look organized, not searching.
b) Use a frame with foundation or drawn comb like a tray or
'dust-pan' to scoop bees from the swarm, and gently move them into
the catch box.
Pick up another frame and do it again. By then, the soft-drink cup
may be a better option.
Bees might march in between drawn frames of brood comb rubber-banded
together. That will go slowly, but should be effective
c) Suck the bees into your catch box with your "Bee-Vac" - the best
ones have large hose diameter hose, and end in a plenum under
a catch box with frames in it. Less chance of damaging bees. Bad
when the bees slam into a wall upon reaching the tank of the
bee-vac.
With rigid extensions to your "Wand" you can reach pretty high into
a tree or up a wall. You have the advantage of being able to
suck up all the stragglers. After 45 min you might have only a
handful of bees not-yet-captured.
d) Offer them a box to march into. Cut a 2" x 2" hole along the
edge of an amazon box,
and shove rhe entrance gently against the swarm. Once they start
marching in you're pretty much done.
A piece of old brood comb or a frame in the box may induce them to
move sooner.
Smoke can be used to coax bees to move. Use sparingly. Smoke from
the down-wind side, not the side the wind is blowing from.
You want this offered home to be their refuge/escape.
-- any other easy solutions to the bee swarm on a thick branch
problem from the experts?
IMO trying to "Sweep" or "Brush" bees into your equipment will
evolve badly. Lots of confused bees in the air. Bad "Look" too.
I have found that I rarely NEED to put on my bee jacket when
collecting swarms. It's handy close-by, though. No gloves needed
either.
All that stuff gets in the way of clear vision and feel.
That's my 2¢
On 4/30/25 3:35 PM, Bo Droga via
swarm-list wrote:
Hi
Jerry,
I
hope you’re doing well! It would be incredibly helpful for
us beginners to receive a few video samples of challenging
swarm catching techniques. It’s always inspiring to see
how the professionals handle these difficult situations.
Thank
you so much for your support!
Best regards
Bo
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