Baymule
Herd Master
That is so cool! You found a swarm and shot them down! 
Now they are safe and warm in their new home and you have another box of bees!
Now they are safe and warm in their new home and you have another box of bees!
The Tall Tale of the Poor Beekeeper Who Saved the Swarm of Bees
- Thread starter soarwitheagles
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- #12
soarwitheagles
True BYH Addict
Thanks Baymule! It sure feels good to have captured another swarm...
Baymule
Herd Master
The Bee Whisperer.......bzzzzzz
CLSranch
Herd Master
That was an ingenius idea. Glad it worked. I think it was as good of an aim of where to place the net depending on how the branch fell. Shooting is not like cutting a tree down. Hmm I want it to go that way.
- Thread starter
- #15
soarwitheagles
True BYH Addict
Thanks CLS for your encouraging words. We hope tomorrow to open the box and see if the queen did indeed survive and see if she is laying eggs. We gave her drawn comb, honey, pollen, and lot of TLC!
I cannot upload the video yet because I used an older Canon video that only permits "S" and "Firewire" cables...So I need to purchase a firewire pci card then install it on our desktop.
BTW, the hive did land on the bed sheets on the bungee cord, but the bungee cord was not tied good enough...and the swarm did actually hit the ground after hitting the bed sheets and bungee netting. Day after placing the bees in the box they were bringing out dozens of dead bees...
I just hope we did not kill or injure the queen. If so, we will install a new mature queen cell in the last day or two of larvae stage...will do my best to post some pics!
I cannot upload the video yet because I used an older Canon video that only permits "S" and "Firewire" cables...So I need to purchase a firewire pci card then install it on our desktop.
BTW, the hive did land on the bed sheets on the bungee cord, but the bungee cord was not tied good enough...and the swarm did actually hit the ground after hitting the bed sheets and bungee netting. Day after placing the bees in the box they were bringing out dozens of dead bees...
I just hope we did not kill or injure the queen. If so, we will install a new mature queen cell in the last day or two of larvae stage...will do my best to post some pics!
babsbag
Herd Master
It is good that you have queen cells available; not many do. I would be out buying a queen.
I was speaking with an experienced commercial beekeeper last week and he mentioned "oak honey" and how it is detrimental to the bees, it can actually kill them. Some say it gives them dysentery and others say it clogs them up, either way is a death sentence. Since I live in an oak woodland I was really interested in this. But he went on to say that it happens in late summer which is not when the trees are in bloom. So upon doing some more research I found out that it is honey from honeydew that comes from insects that live on the oak tree and other trees and plants, Aphids are the ones that most people are familiar with. But there is one that lives on oak trees too and the bees will collect the honeydew as nectar and store it as honey. The other problem is that they gather this and yet there is no pollen. So the solution is to spray the bees with a very mild water/bleach solution and feed pollen patties. I found this very interesting and it might be one reason that my hives are always so weak going into winter.
I was speaking with an experienced commercial beekeeper last week and he mentioned "oak honey" and how it is detrimental to the bees, it can actually kill them. Some say it gives them dysentery and others say it clogs them up, either way is a death sentence. Since I live in an oak woodland I was really interested in this. But he went on to say that it happens in late summer which is not when the trees are in bloom. So upon doing some more research I found out that it is honey from honeydew that comes from insects that live on the oak tree and other trees and plants, Aphids are the ones that most people are familiar with. But there is one that lives on oak trees too and the bees will collect the honeydew as nectar and store it as honey. The other problem is that they gather this and yet there is no pollen. So the solution is to spray the bees with a very mild water/bleach solution and feed pollen patties. I found this very interesting and it might be one reason that my hives are always so weak going into winter.
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- #17
soarwitheagles
True BYH Addict
Wow Babs! I have never heard of that before with the oak trees. We have large numbers of oak trees but they are located 10-20 miles from us so I suppose we are safe.
Nectar flow here has been super strong for about 3 weeks now. Especially with the yellow wild mustard. I am seeing some fields of square miles of the mustard...all in wonderful bright yellow bloom.
I hope everything works out for you Babs!
Let me know if I can help you in any way!
Nectar flow here has been super strong for about 3 weeks now. Especially with the yellow wild mustard. I am seeing some fields of square miles of the mustard...all in wonderful bright yellow bloom.
I hope everything works out for you Babs!
Let me know if I can help you in any way!
