Arboretum Swarms-4/17/25

[Jacobs]

I got a text and picture of a swarm in the same bush as yesterday's swarm. It was in an easier place to get so I shook it into my swarm bucket. Just about as soon as I had it hived, a beekeeper I have been mentoring texted me about a swarm over and behind the Arboretum bees. They settled on some junk plants on the creek bank. I had the beekeeper get a nuc box and a couple of frames of dark comb and 3 other frames to fill out the box. After harassing the bees a bit, I was able to spot the queen and get her in a clip. We installed this small swarm in her 8 frame equipment, and because she lives so close to the Arboretum, we are leaving the queen in the clip for 2 days before releasing her. The real fun was experiencing this beekeeper's first swarm sighting and first swarm capture.