So I don't know how many prospective beekeepers we've got on steemit, but I'm going to take some time to explain how to look out for a bee swarm, prevent it, or in the event that you fail to prevent it, capture it.
I am definitely an authority on catching the swarm because that's exactly what I did a few days ago!
So first up here is a photo of me and my girlfriend doing normal beekeeping stuff while our friends watch in horror/disbelief/(respect?). Yes that is a bee on my thumb. I work with Italian bees, which are known for being quite docile and friendly. I work with my bare hands because it reduces the likelihood that I will accidentally crush a bee between my fingers when grabbing frames.
In a kind of funny way wearing gloves can increase the likelihood of getting stung, because when you crush a bee they release a hormone that triggers a defensive response in the other bees, they think they're under attack. I've worked with bees for 2+ years now and the only time I was ever stung was when I grabbed a handle and crushed a bee by accident. She stung me as she died and yes I do feel guilty about that.
Anyway SWARMS! Swarms are not like what you see in the cartoons, bees don't swarm because they're angry and trying to murder you, they swarm when they feel like it's time to pack their bags and start someplace new.
This is obviously very frustrating to beekeepers because you want to keep your bees in the hive you built for them, where you can take care of them and work together to make the plants in your community healthier. The best way to tell if your hive is going to swarm is to check for what we call "swarm cells."
A swarm cell is a honeycomb cell that is growing a new queen bee. As the picture shows there are two instances in which the bees decide to grow a new queen "supercedure" or "Swarm".
God I feel like I'm talking about Starcraft and the Zerg here....
Anyway a supercedure cell is at the top of the frame, it appears when your current queen is failing or dead, and the bees want a revolution to put a new leader in charge. That's a whole other problem/ blog post.
A swarm cell is at the bottom and is actually an indication that your hive is doing well, TOO well in fact. It indicates that there is a LOT of honey and food, a LOT of bees, but not much more room. The bees are deciding to spread their offspring throughout the area. The old queen will take half of the hive with her, at least half of the honey, fly off and start a new hive somewhere else.
This can devastate your hive if it happens late in the season. If you aren't paying attention you'll come back and find your hive half gone right before the fall, with an uphill battle ahead of you if you want to get their numbers/food stores up in time for the winter.
So if you see swarm cells you can add more layers to the hive so your bees feel that they have more elbow room. You can also re-arrange the frames so that empty frames they haven't noticed are front and center. If you have multiple hives you can even swap frames between a populous hive and a less packed hive. Or you can do what is called a "split" which is detailed here better than I could write:
http://www.bushfarms.com/beessplits.htm
So what do you do when your hive swarms and you need to catch it?
Well lucky for you swarming bees are actually in a very docile state, they're blindly following their queen with their bellies full of honey. They don't have a home anymore. (in their minds, to me my bees home will always be in my heart T_T) They really don't have anything they feel they need to protect from you, and will not freak out or attack unless you start killing them by accident.
Anyway Step 1) Locate the swarm. Queens can't fly for shit and have to take frequent breaks as they travel along. Our queen made it about 15 feet from the hive before she decided to rest on the branch of our apricot tree.
That's a couple thousand lady bees just following their queen. There were so many bees that it actually weighted the branch all the way to the ground amazing if you ask me. Anyway:
Step 2) Plan where you are going to put them. We luckily had an empty hive from a few years back that we could quickly set up as their new home. So if you're a new beekeeper it pays to have an extra brood box laying around. You're also going to need something to carry them in, like a bucket or cardboard box.
Step 3) Carefully get them into the bucket or box. Our swarm was on a tree, so we very carefully sawed that branch off and carried it back to our hive. These bees aren't going to freak out if they get moved abruptly, but they're pretty clumsy in this stage and might just fall off like globs of pudding. You don't want to leave a puddle of confused bees in your yard so position the bucket or box under the swarm to catch any stragglers.
Step 4) Tap the bees into your box (or dump them out if you're transporting them via bucket/box)
They'll follow the queen, so she's the only one you really need to worry about getting into your hive. The others will naturally follow her pheromones back to the hive. Here you can see all the bees in our yard crawling back into the hive to find her.
Lastly around dusk close the hive up, and don't bother them for at least 7 days. You need them to start storing food and laying eggs otherwise they won't feel super attached to their new home. If you disturb them during this time they may feel like they should just pack up and try again.
Congrats, you either just saved your hive, or now have 2 healthy ones!
Anyway hope this was informative! Follow me for more beekeeping stories in addition to other things.