Swarm catching, part 2

At “dusk” (ok, dark), I got the hive box ready.  One super full of drawn comb and fresh foundation, another empty super, and an eke.  The whole empty upper box thing is to imitate a spacious swarm box.  So they can all crowd up in the ceiling.

Then I went to get the nuc box from the woods. 

Whoa!  Quite a few bees on the outside of the box.  More than before.

They’re  so neat.  They’re like lined up in stacked rows.  And quiet, just a low hum.  It was bedtime.

Ok, so my big idea was just to put the box inside the hive, and let them flow out of the box in their own time.  I was in no mood for dumping.

Only problem, the nuc box is taller than my vacant woodenware is tall.  One more super would be perfect, but literally the day before, I’d bumped up Violet  another super, (I name my hives- this one will be Pansy, if all goes well) and had only two left.  Would be plenty, except for unexpected eventualities.

Therefore, I improvised.

One tub, and a hammock repurposed as a gasket, to close up the little gaps (about a quarter inch), because Rubbermaids aren’t Langstroth compatible.  Quite close to the right size though.

Then I got to spend a half hour picking bees off myself.    They were walking around; I think they’d walked off the box up my arms during the transfer, and were just dopey and confused.  On my head, in pockets, on my back.  You don’t want to peel off the suit and crush them in the process (sting, sting) or release bees in the house. I’d pluck them off and poke them back in and walk towards my door, dying to be finished and then buhzzz, buhzzz.  Another one! Another two, four, eight, twelve.  Finally I was clear.

The next day:

Uhoh.  There’s a breach in the gasket.  They’re acting swarmy still, which could mean that they’re still sending out scouts to shop for the next place.  Good, though, because it means I have to go in.  I wanted to get in and take the nuc box out, and get rid of this stupid Tupperware arrangement, but was reading how I had to keep them locked in, and was conflicted.

Look what’s inside!   Walls of bees.  They’d vacated the nuc box alright, and I lifted that out, and there were straggling bees all over the it and the hammock.  Many of them flew back while I was adjusting- pushing all the bees back off the edge so I could get a lid on them.

After the lid was on, in the interest of no bee left behind, I went over each object (hammock, box, tub) one by one, cleaning off the bees and dropping them in the hole in the cover.  Lots of them were walking.  When almost all of them were in, and the rest airborne (they’ll be fine), I closed up the hole.

Bye bye now

They had a completely different vibe today.  Instead of the intense, excited potential, it was a much more chill, Sunday morning after the rave vibe.  No casualties, no stings, and based just on their mood, I think that means they’ll stay.  It could mean that they’re in a content waiting state, but I’m hoping it’s just cool down after the swarm, and soon they’ll go back to work.

Much better

Lots of wasps out lurking around, and the bees weren’t mounting their usual vigorous defense.  I hardly see wasps now since their colonies seemed to “stop” at the beginning of August, but there were several, different kinds, getting involved today for some reason.

Oh, and Galahad is sitting on the keets!  Sitting on them!   Adorable.