Collecting Swarms
Every bee of the twenty or thirty
thousand volleying madly to and fro overhead, is singing her bravest
and loudest. There is only one meaning to the whole gargantuan chorus.
It is sheer jubilation melodised: a wild, glad song of freedom, as
though not a bee amongst them had ever before set eyes on the sunshine
and the wealth of an English May. The Lore of the Honey-bee - Tickner Edwardes. |
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According to Roman law, swarms that are not hived are considered masterless. A swarm, since bees are wild by nature, belongs to the first person who hives it. If one of your colonies swarms, that swarm is yours so long as you can pursue it, otherwise it becomes the property of the first person who takes it. Legends dating back to Roman times gave rise to the idea that the noise of iron and brass objects being ‘tanged’ together will make a swarm settle. However, old-time beekeepers firmly believed that the church bells on Sunday made the bees swarm! We now know that bees cannot hear sounds in the way that we do, only as vibrations travelling along a surface with which they are in contact. However, the tanging of bees conventionally accomplished by using a key on a brass plate continued until fairly recent times.
The old beekeeper ... seizes key
and pan, and hurries across the garden.” “The
great door-key, a ponderous, antiquated piece of metal, beats out
its clanging note, and the swarm lifts higher and higher into the
blue. Ibid. |
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Once it is known that you are a beekeeper you automatically become an expert on
collecting swarms, whatever your experience! (expert = x the unknown quantity,
spurt = a drip under pressure!) The advantage that you have is that you probably do know
more than the average person, who is usually terrified and has seen “Killer
Bees”. Swarms when they first emerge are usually very
docile and seem to want to be taken. They have engorged themselves with honey
before leaving in order to fuel the journey and build comb and are in a ‘holiday
mood’. Your disadvantage is that bees do not read books on beekeeping
- they have not seen the photo’ in “The Beginners Guide to
Beekeeping” showing a swarm that has recently settled on a single
low branch easily within reach. The settling place, in practice, can be anywhere
- on a post, fence or wall, in a bush or hedge, high up in a tree straddling
several thick branches, at the end of a long thin branch overhanging a main
road, etc. Remember that bees are by nature tree dwelling. If there happens
to be a hole in the eaves of a house with a space behind, you can hardly
blame the bees for thinking they have found a large tree! The method you
use to take the swarm will depend on its location. The secret of any method
is to get the queen into your container - once she is in, the rest of the
bees will join her.
The essential equipment for taking swarms
- A container for the swarm - traditionally a skep. A new one is relatively expensive - but look in skips for a discarded Ali Baba basket (reduced in size unless you anticipate enormous swarms!), wastepaper baskets, etc. Rubbing the inside of a skep with the herb Lemon Balm (Melissa officinalis) is said to make it attractive to bees - the leaves contain the essential oil geraniol, which is one of the constituents to be found in the pheromones from the Nasonov gland. The cheapest and easiest container to obtain is a cardboard box - you may need to use sticky tape on the gaps and cover if it rains. Don’t go modern and attempt to use plastic. I tried a 1 gallon plastic bucket once. When inverted, the bees I had spent a long time coaxing into the interior, fell around my feet - they were unable to grip onto the surface! A ventilated box used to supply a nucleus is ideal - frames of comb can be placed inside and used as a temporary home. A second smaller skep is useful, but not essential, for collecting stragglers.
- A sheet or net curtain large enough to stand the inverted container on and secure by tying or wrapping over the top.
- Small block of wood to prop up the container.
- Secateurs & pruning saw.
- Length of rope (to pull branches down) and a weight.
- Steps and/or ladder would be useful if you have sufficient space.
- Veil, smoker, fuel, matches/lighter, gloves.
- A queen cage might be useful if you see the queen.
- A road map and street map of your area.
- BBKA leaflet The Bees and Wasps in your Garden & local BKA information.
- Telephone no’s of local beekeepers (in case you need help) & pest control firms for difficult swarms.
- Camera - to take that prize winning shot for the National Honey Show or Bee Craft! (My brother-in-law once photographed me taking a swarm, when everything went dramatically wrong. “Does that normally happen?” he enquired!)
If you assemble everything together in your container and keep it in the
car, you will be ready for immediate action!
When you get the swarm call, try and get as much information as possible.
How many bees are there? (I was once asked to travel several miles to remove one
bumblebee from a garage). Where are they? How high up? Do you have
a ladder? Are they wearing football jerseys? (If “Yes” and
in a compost heap, the swarm is bumblebees). How long have they
been there? (Unless asked, you are not always told they arrived a fortnight
ago - the bees have used up the honey they set off with and are sharp).
Are they on your property?
Most BKA’s operate a swarm collecting service as a public service - it is an essential means of promoting the craft and educating the public. Do make it clear that it is a voluntary service and make it clear when you will be able to attend. If you are going to ask for travelling expenses or ask a fee, make this clear. The householder may be able to claim the cost of removing a swarm on their house insurance policy - if you make a charge, give a receipt. Do not risk your life or limb. Remember that a swarm weighing several pounds knocked into a skep can unbalance you on a ladder. Do not attempt to remove bees from chimneys etc. Membership of your BKA or the BBKA will give some insurance cover - you can, of course, take out your own insurance cover. When you have successfully collected the swarm, you are then sometimes asked, “Aren’t bees scarce and worth a lot of money?” Offer to return the bees - this offer is always declined!
Most swarms can be taken by one of four main methods. Whichever method you use, suggest onlookers stand back - they will either be hiding in the kitchen or standing close wearing shorts! You can do the “There’s nothing to be afraid of” bit later, when you are sure you are in control.
Shaking the swarm into the container
If the bees have read The Beginners Guide, they
will be clustered on a single branch near the ground. Spread your sheet on
the ground. Have your smoker alight and handy. Holding your container under
the swarm, as close as possible, give the branch a sharp jerk. This should
dislodge most of the bees (hopefully including the queen). Slowly invert
the container in the middle of the sheet and prop up one side. Usually, in
a short time, you will see bees at the ‘entrance’ exposing their
Nasonov glands and fanning - gradually the flying bees will be attracted
and will join the rest. Sometimes a little smoke helps to push the stragglers
inside. Smoke the branch the swarm was on to mask the queen’s scent,
which will continue to attract bees.
If any of the bees remain behind, or return
to the place of the Swarm, let him lay in the place some stinking
arable (wild camomile) or other noisome herb, which will
keep the bees from returning. Sir Thomas More, 1700. |
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If you missed the queen, the bees will not stay and usually return to the same spot as before - when they have settled, start again. If possible, leave the bees until the evening, when all the bees and foragers will have returned. A queen excluder placed underneath will prevent the swarm departing. If you can’t return later, explain that the few bees you have left behind will gradually disperse - if you don’t, you’ll get another swarm call! Place in the shade if hot - protect from rain. When you are ready to collect the swarm, remove the block, gather up the sheet around the container and remove. If the swarm is spread across several branches, a little careful pruning will often simplify matters (do ask permission first). If the branch is thin you may be able to cut the branch above the swarm and remove them intact.
A weighted rope thrown over a branch can be used to lower the branch or even shake the swarm onto the ground if necessary. Firing a 12 bore shotgun into a swarm in order to dislodge it is not recommended!
Smoking the swarm up into the container
When it is not possible to shake the bees into a container, e.g.
when they have settled on a post or in the middle of a hedge, they can be
persuaded into a container placed above them by smoking - bees will walk
upwards into a darkened space. Don’t overdo the smoking - a little
amount of smoke at the base of the swarm is usually sufficient to get them
moving. Make sure the box is firmly secured and will remain in place when
full of bees. Smoking bees can be a long process - be patient. Invert the
container on a sheet as before.
Brushing the swarm into the container
A swarm that has settled on a wall can be brushed into the container.
This is an occasion when a cardboard box is the best container - the long
flat side can be laid against the side of the wall. Using your hands (wear
gloves if you wish), a large feather or bee brush, gently brush the bees
into the container.
Using a frame of comb
In difficult situations when the above methods can not be used or
haven’t worked, a frame of drawn comb placed in contact with the swarm
will often work. The bees soon cover the frame and these can be shaken into
the container and the frame replaced. If you can use a brood frame containing
brood, the attractiveness of the frame is increased. As with other methods,
once the queen has been transferred, the rest of the bees will follow. Throwing
a handful of bees in front of the container will often get them fanning and
this will attract more into the container. An empty hive in your apiary containing
drawn comb will often attract a swarm - a bait hive.
A cast containing a virgin queen can be flighty and difficult to
contain. On occasions, more then one swarm gets mixed up - if the resulting
swarm contains more than one queen (especially if virgins), your task becomes
interesting!
Hiving The Swarm
There are few pleasures for a beekeeper to compare
with the drive home, as the sun is setting, with a skep
of bees successfully collected in the back of the car-
ignoring the ones that have escaped and are scampering
up the windscreen! It is a good idea to place them in
an isolation apiary, until their temper and disease status
can be assessed. When they have brood, you or a more
experienced beekeeper should examine for brood disorders.
A sample of bees should be examined for nosema & acarine
- if your BKA does not have a microscopist, send
a sample to the NBU. A check for varroa should be made
using Bayvarol (or whatever method you prefer) - or you
can assume that they are infested.. A swarm is ideal
for treatment since there is no brood and the varroa
mites cannot hide. The qualities of the bees (especially
temper) are unknown - they have one undesirable trait
- swarming! Bad tempered bees are often not managed by
the beekeeper to prevent swarming. If, when you have
assessed them over several weeks, they appear to be bad
tempered, you can re-queen or use the swarm to make up
nuclei for queen breeding. However, as a beginner you
will need the help of a more experienced beekeeper -
an excellent reason for belonging to your local BKA.
Try to have everything set up in the apiary in readiness
for the swarm. If the swarm took longer to collect than
you anticipated, a torch may have to be added to your
list of essential equipment! The swarm can be left in
its container, but better to hive the swarm that evening.
I once visited an apiary where there were numerous cardboard
boxes scattered around. You can run out of equipment
- and time! Two or three swarms can be united - the queens
will sort themselves out and there will be no fighting
amongst the bees. As a beginner you will have learnt
the rule about moving bees - two feet or two miles i.e.
foraging bees memorise the location of their hive. Strangely,
a swarm seems to suffer from amnesia. A swarm can be
hived in the same apiary and the foragers will not return
to their old site. There are two basic methods of hiving
a swarm - the ‘traditional’ and the direct
method. Whichever method is
used, set a brood box and floor on a stand. The brood
box should contain frames of drawn comb or foundation
- a swarm is ideal for ‘drawing out’ foundation,
a task it will accomplish in a short time. A swarm should
be hived late in the day.
The Traditional Method
A board approximately 2’ square is
placed in front of the brood box sloping up from the ground to the entrance.
The board is covered with a white cloth - the cloth gives the bees a foothold
but the colour, although always specified as “white”, matters
not! Alternatively, the sheet enclosing the bees in the container may be
used. The swarm is shaken from the container on to the board - one sharp
shake will dislodge most of the bees. For a few moments, the bees will mill
around - don’t panic!. Gradually, they all turn to face the entrance
and move upwards. Once bees find the entrance and begin fanning, the scent
from the Nasonov gland reaches the mass of bees and the clamour to reach
the dark interior accelerates. It usually takes about 30 minutes for most
of the bees to enter.. A crown board and roof should be fitted.
It really is an amazing sight - every beekeeper should use this method once or to impress the neighbours. The “white sheet” was first mentioned in the Ancient Laws of Ireland, codified by St. Patrick in A.D. 438-41.
Direct Method
This method is not so interesting, but it is quick.
Close the entrance to the brood box with an entrance block or a strip of foam - this prevents the bees pouring out of the front. Remove the frames and keep them close. Shake the swarm into the empty brood box. The frames are now slowly and gently replaced one by one - they will initially rest on the heap of bees on the floor. As the bees climb onto the frames, the frames will sink into place. Don’t force the frames and crush bees. When all the frames are in place, add the crown board and roof and remove the entrance block.
A variation is to place an empty super on top of the brood box (containing frames) and throwing the swarm into the space thus created. You need to remove the super and crown board as soon as possible, otherwise they build comb from the crownboard into the space of the empty super.
Another variation is to place a shallow eke on a floor, shake the swarm into the eke, add the brood box. The bees will walk up onto the frames and the eke can be removed 10 minutes later.
A feeder with a gallon of sugar syrup (2 lbs. to 1 pint water/1 kg. to 1 litre) should be provided.
A cast with a virgin queen should be hived with a frame of brood from another colony to prevent absconding.
If you know the colony from which the swarm has come and you have no spare hive available, it is possible to return the swarm to the parent colony. First, you will need to go through the parent hive and remove all the queen cells except one. Then the queen in the swarm must be found and killed. The swarm can then be run in. I have heard Adrian Waring tell of the beekeeper who used to throw the swarm in front of the parent hive and watch for the old queen to walk up the board. She was then killed and the swarm allowed to enter the hive. This was her method of swarm control!
There may be occasions when a swarm has to be killed. This is better left to pest control firms, who have the appropriate materials and are insured.. If you do have to take responsibilty, soapy water sprayed onto the swarm will kill them (½ cup washing-up liquid in 1 gal. water). If the bees have been collected, then petrol can be used (no - you don’t burn it). But killing bees gives the wrong message - be discrete.
As a responsible beekeeper, do learn swarm prevention & swarm control. Remember that you are one of the largest employers of female labour in the country! You may have bee fever but your neighbours may not share your enthusiasm - you know a swarm is harmless, but the general public only knows about Killer Bees and tabloid and T.V. accounts of people dying from a single sting. And you are wearing the protective gear when they are sunbathing or having a barbecue. However, remember if your neighbour says your bees are in their garden, your bees are a different colour, or you number all your bees, or you clip the queen’s wings...!
Collecting swarms can be great fun - it gives you the opportunity to give bees and beekeeping a good reputation. You will find that most people are interested and you will be giving an instant course on beekeeping as you try to concentrate on collecting the swarm. That’s how I forgot to zip my veil and ended up doing a German dance with bees reaching the parts I wished they were nowhere near! Good luck.
Addendum:
Membership of the NBKA provides BBKA insurance cover.
However, if you make a charge for collecting a swarm you cease to be a hobbyist
and this will invalidate your insurance cover. Similarly, a claim arising
from dealing with anything other than honeybees would be doubtful e.g. bumblebees
or wasps.
Bibliography:
The classic reference book is Swarming Its Control & Prevention by
L.E. Snelgrove – ISBN 0 9507425 0 3 – first published in 1934.
A more recent book (1999) is Honey-bee Swarms by Ron Brown. Better
Beginnings for Beekeepers (1995) by Adrian Waring – ISBN 0 905369
09 2 – contains a chapter on Swarm Control as well as being an excellent & inexpensive
primer.
Brian P. Dennis