Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: iddee on March 17, 2021, 07:19:34 pm
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I had a call from a member today asking what to do when you suspect your hive is going to swarm. He had never heard of a swarm catcher box, so after explaining it to him, I thought I would post it here for others that may have a use for it. You mount it on the entrance of your hive when you suspect a swarm. When it happens, the queen cannot get through the excluder, so the swarming bees return and join her. You then close the unit, move it to another hive and reopen it. They go into the new hive and set up housekeeping. The foragers can work through the excluder, but the queen is trapped, so they don't leave. After a few days, remove the catcher.
https://beezneedz.com/product/swarm-catcher/
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Today was my first day of hearing or seeing one also. I think it was an ad on FB. I wonder how Johnny on the spot you have to be before the queen would go back in the hive.
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On the link, it is priced at 79 dollars. It is incorrect. The true price is 29 and some cents.
I'm guessing a check at 2 PM and 6 PM would do the job.
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A treasure trove of information as always, thanks Iddee!
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Hi Rast :) it is my understanding thru the years that the queen won't go back to the hive. In the original hive box, those queen cells will be hatching within a couple of days or sooner. If the queen goes back to the hive, the new hatching queens would kill her and the bees know that.
If a swarm goes into a swarm catcher box, there is a good chance that the digs won't be just right for them, then they take the queen and abscond that swarm catching box, and find another place to live.
That is the purpose of the queen excluder! It is to anchor the queen inside the swarm catching box. The bees that came with her won't fly away leaving her behind. In my experience it takes about 3-4 days of anchoring the queen inside the swarm box and the bees get busy drawing wax, the queen starts to lay. Hopefully your swarm box will have at least 1-2 frames of drawn wax for her to start laying. Once she starts laying the colony will stay put.