[Swing Swang]

When I cam home yesterday I found a swarm in the neighbours plum tree - thought I'd share the pictures that my OH took as found them a new home:




A big, prime swarm too...


Time to get them back, smoker at the ready.


Up the tree with a box...


A sharp knock, and that's most of them housed


Carefully slide on a base...


And leave them for a couple of hours to let the stragglers arrive.




Edit - try using this link


and use the previous and back buttons to see all the photos.

[mumofstig]

I can't see any of the pictures - just red crosses 

[Beetroot queen]

I can just see blue boxes with question marks in

[snowdrops]

I saw boxes with funny pictures in them right clicked on the 1st one,clicked open in new window & saw lots of pictures.

Swing Swang, that's very impressive,do you now get to keep them all? Was the Queen in the swarm,will she start to breed now?

[Springlands]

I could not see all the pics but the ones I could see are amazing . Thank you for sharing.

[Debz]

I couldn't see all the pics either but the ones I saw were amazing.  Where will you put the swarm now?

[Goldfinger]

Boxes with black crosses in here, no pics...... 

[mumofstig]

I've added a link which should work

[Debz]

I used the link and saw all the pictures.  That is incredible as I have never seen a swarm like that before.  I once had one pass overhead when I was lying sunbathing and couldn't believe the noise they made.

[Springlands]

Thank you Swing Swang and MOS - that was truly amazing.

[Swing Swang]

Thank MOS for setting up the link - this website has changed since I last posted pictures and my old method doesn't work anymore.

In reply to Snowdrops
>do you now get to keep them all?
Indeed I do - here's hoping for a warm summer with lots of flowers and a harvest in the autumn - although realistically they'll keep all that they can make to keep them going over the winter and I'll take my first harvest in 2014.

>Was the Queen in the swarm
Yes - it's the 'old' queen that leads the swarm with about half of the workers to set up a new colony, and I saw her in the box so I know that I've got her.

>Will she start to breed now?
Just as soon as her workers have made fresh comb the queen will start to lay - remember that she's the 'old' queen so she's fertile, the 'new' queen gets left in the hive that the swarm left.

[snowdrops]

Thank you SS it was really wonderful to see the pictures & for your answers to the questions too. I am quite fascinated in the whole bee keeping art & have wondered about learning to keep them myself. I don't think my garden is suitable to have a hive though & i understand you have more than 1 anyway. Also don't think I could have them on the allotment either.

[Debz]

Thanks for the explanations.  It's a fascinating subject and I look forward to hearing about your harvests in due course.

[surbie100]

Congrats on capturing the swarm, and it's great to see the pictures. We have hives on our site and they swarmed 3 times last year. The noise is absolutely incredible - right out of a Hitchcock movie!

I'd love to keep some myself, one day.

[barley]

crikey ...... I'd have been indoors like a shot ( wimp !!!N)