I captured another one of my own swarms yesterday.. (last year I was able to do the same). This isn’t the recommended method for doing a hive split, but it works if you happen to catch half of the colony leaving with the queen! It’s stressful, but you have the chance of seeing where they land; typically within 150 feet of the hive, where they regroup waiting for the scouts to find a suitable new home.
Yesterday I saw them leaving their hive by the millions! Or so it seemed. They landed about 15-18 feet up in one of my neighbors cedar trees, about 150 feet from my tiny apiary where they used to live..
The way the cluster of bees was positioned, and the height from the ground made the task of retrieval seemingly impossible. So I brought one of my swarm traps to a nearby limb, hoping for the best. But they seemed to be ignoring it, and I knew that once they left their current location, they would probably travel out of the area.
Then I recalled that the club recently received the donation of a ’bee vac’! (Much thanks to the individual who gave this valuable tool to the club; sorry, I forgot your name.)
After hearing about Brads experience with using it, I decided it was my only real option.
This cluster of bees was the largest I’ve ever captured. It filled the vacuum completely; after I emptied it into a new hive I went back and got the rest. Although I never did spot her, the queen must have been in the first batch, because when I came back with the stragglers there were bees ‘fanning’ the queen pheromones from the landing board, signaling the rest of the colony.
I’ve retrieved approximately 5 swarms in the past three years, but this was my first time with the bee vac. I’m definitely endorsing the use of it for those occasions when you can’t get to the cluster and “shake” them into your box. I don’t think it would have been possible without it in this instance.