Although I witnessed quite an amazing event today with my bees, I am sorry I was not quick enough to respond correctly and lost a swarm. I thought I was being careful as I watched the bees starting the new season and just last week I added an extra super box since Spring has arrived and the honey flow seemed quite adequate. We were away for several days and I knew when I returned I needed to check the hive. I planned the inspection for today. Now last night I had walked out there and saw something I read about, but didn’t really believe. I read that if the bees form a U shape they are just about ready to swarm … I saw this and said .. Is that for real? I should have taken the warning immediately but diddle daddled around and had to make a run to town this morning and upon our return, I was ready to inspect.
Well, the bees were well ahead of me and when I walked out there, there were hundreds in flight. So I thought well now that must be a first flight for new bees, BUT I was starting to “get it” finally … they were entering into a SWARM. I ran around like a misguided child not knowing how to proceed. I got the cooler to capture them with and another hive to put them into. Of course, the area they settled on was deep in a thicket of thorn bushes so I had to carefully make my way cutting branches as I inched toward them. I cleared a path and saw the swarm .. I knew if I cut the branch it would fall and they would not be happy! I decided to set the hive box right in front of them hoping they would all just jump right in.
By this time it was well over 100 degrees in my bee suit and my mind was getting more confused as to how to proceed. I thought to run inside and check the books I had or research online, but this really wasn’t the time to do that. I decided to take a look at the hive they came from and opened it up. The super I had placed last week was nearly full of honey so I ran to get another to place on top of this one.
I went back to see if the swarm had jumped into the hive I had placed there for them and they were GONE! Poof, gone … in a matter of minutes!!
Shocked and in disbelief I gathered all “my stuff” and decided I needed to sit and cool off. Looking at the busy bees still going back and forth to the hive, I would never had known there was a swarm, if I had not witnessed it as I had. My initial feelings of sadness told me not to tell the experience since it would appear that a beekeeper should know better, right? On second thought, I decided to share my beekeeping blunder in the hopes that someone else might become aware and know what to watch for. May is prime time for swarms and my simple action of adding one super was not enough precaution to ward off a swarm. I plan to open the hive tomorrow and get a much closer look at what is transpiring inside … now it is still quite hot and I am wiped out.
This will be our third year keeping bees and I am learning all the time. I feel fortunate that I was able to witness a swarm in action and I realize things happen for a reason. We are moving and another hive full of bees is a major item to move, so right now the swarm moving on before I could react, was a good thing. I may yet do a split though since it is still early in the year …. time will tell!
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