Swarm 4/24/20
Swarm 4/24/20
I don't know what it is about the swarm I picked up at Stadiem's, but they swarmed again Friday afternoon. This makes the 3rd I have seen and captured. They like to come out in high winds when Swarm Commander is most difficult to apply and these bees seem less organized than most I have seen swarm. The good news is that they do respond to tanging and I was able to bring them down to where I had sprayed. The swarm out of this hive from 4/20/20 has an unmarked queen. This swarm also has an unmarked queen. I got most to come to a stack of supers, but had to vacuum 2 clumps where Swarm Commander had drifted. Even with some going in the stack, the bees remained agitated. I got lucky, spotted the queen walking on the front of the super, and got her in a queen catcher clip. Within 10 minutes of my putting her into the stack of supers, the swarm took off for parts unknown. When she did not go with them, they returned. They appear to have settled in, so when it warms up this afternoon, I will probably go in to release her and to see the size of the swarm. It looks like they will probably fit in a 5 frame medium nuc set up to start.