Author Topic: Some swarms in crazy places.  (Read 2742 times)

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Offline Alleyyooper

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Some swarms in crazy places.
« on: October 08, 2014, 03:00:54 pm »
Guy called me up and said he was cleaning his bird boxes in the fall, asked if I would come get them.



They had the box just about full of comb so had been there for a while. I was told to just take the house so I did.
Got them home and into a deep hive body. They surprised me and built up so they made it thru the winter.

These were on a corn picker elevator. Guy had been in his shop working on some thing and heard them come in and land. They were in 3 spots two of which you can see. The ones down in the elevator I inticed up with frames of drawn comb.



This is from a real long time ago one of my first. I sat the folding work table on top of my truck cap then the bottom board and hive. Used a pruning pole to pull the branch down to the hive. Took them about a half hour to march in.
Do stuff a lot quicker today with the bee vac.



This one was so easy and simple but took a long time to leave the area. They were in front of the local Home Depot store in one of the flowering crabs. Set the hive body under them shook them in and closed them up. Had probably all the workers from the store standing watching me in a T shirt and ball cap and watching me do the deed. Then I got the 40,000 questions of where they came from, why did they come and why did they pick that spot on and on for a long time. Five years latter I got another call from Atlanta to ask if I would go there and get another swarm from the garden center. I did.



This is one I consider the best of all. Lady called me in the late evening near dark and asked if I would come get them. I told her it was late and the weather forecast was calling for some bad thunder storms and wind during the night. I asked if she would call me back in the morning if they were still there.
In the morning she called and said they were still there. It was about a two hour drive but I feel well worth it. I put t5he hive down next to them started looking for the queen, found her installed her in the queen catcher in the hive. The bees marched right in. The lady was amazed they would do that. She then had to show me her front yard on Lake Huron.







 :)  Al
your not fully dressed with out a smile.

Offline Perry

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #1 on: October 08, 2014, 03:20:35 pm »
Those are some nice sized swarms! Mine are not uisually that easy, think 40 'up. I don't even bother with those anymore.
"It is not the man who has too little, but the man who craves more, that is poor."      
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Offline iddee

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #2 on: October 08, 2014, 04:31:49 pm »
Hey, Al, you ever get bees by mail?   :D


“Listen to the mustn'ts, child. Listen to the don'ts. Listen to the shouldn'ts, the impossibles, the won'ts. Listen to the never haves, then listen close to me... Anything can happen, child. Anything can be.”
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Offline Scott Derrick

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #3 on: October 08, 2014, 06:05:20 pm »
I'm suppose to be removing a colony from an inground tank tomorrow. I'll take photos.
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Offline Alleyyooper

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #4 on: October 09, 2014, 05:24:46 am »
No bees by mail yet.
This swarm was about 35 feet up in a big Oak tree. We set my ladder in the back of a 4x4 pickup and used a telescoping paint roller pole to tape the vac hose to reach them.





This one was on both sides of the fence. some times the best tool is the bee vac.



Another one the vac was the best tool about 20 feet up.



Some place I have a swarm picture that was 28 feet up in a maple tree. It was before I had the long pole and hoses for the vac. I sat the hive up in a spot I guesstmate to be the drop zone and used a 12ga. shot gun to shoot the branch off the tree. Part of the swarm missed the hive but most hit and I figure the queen went in as the rest went in too.

 :)  Al


your not fully dressed with out a smile.

Offline Perry

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #5 on: October 09, 2014, 07:15:49 am »

"I sat the hive up in a spot I guesstmate to be the drop zone and used a 12ga. shot gun to shoot the branch off the tree. Part of the swarm missed the hive but most hit and I figure the queen went in as the rest went in too."

 :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
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Offline Alleyyooper

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Re: Some swarms in crazy places.
« Reply #6 on: October 09, 2014, 09:06:08 am »
Yup added a 12ga. shot gun to the swarm catching tools. but don't use it since I bought the super longer hose and the 24 foot extended paint pole.

 :)  Al
your not fully dressed with out a smile.