Swarm-3/20/17

[Jacobs]

I received calls about a bee tree in High Point and went to have a look because descriptions sounded like a swarm from one caller and an active hive in a tree from a second caller. When I got there to take a look, it looked like an active hive in a tree with some excitement at the entrance. About five minutes after I arrived, a swarm issued and landed about 3 feet off the ground on a small bush. I vacuumed the bees and brought them home. I estimate the swarm at about 4 pounds. Based on the different descriptions of what the bees had been doing over the last 24 hours, I couldn't be sure whether a swarm was trying to move into the tree or whether the bees in the tree were trying to swarm, but returned to the tree each time they left. I gave the swarm a frame of capped brood, eggs, and larvae from one of my Wayne's Bee hives. I'll let them settle in for about 4 days and weather permitting, check the frame for queen cells. If there are no queen cells, I will check the hive for a queen.