Guilfordbeekeepers.org

I came outside about 5:30pm today and saw this swarm about 12 feet up. The picture does not do it justice. I estimate it to be about a 5lb swarm. I got my inspectors jacket, ladder and bee vacuum and started to work. After taking about 15 stings, I went back to the house and put on gloves. I put them in a hive with a queen excluder between the bottom board and the super--I am assuming the bees came from one of my hives and would want to travel away if not forced to stay.

Is anyone else finding swarms now to be more prone to sting than normal or is it just my bees?

After a VERY prolific March/April, I have not seen or heard of any swarms in probably a month... Interesting observation about the stinging nature of the swarm you caught - it's rare that I ever use anything other than just a veil, but will think twice about that if I run into one now!

The bees came out of the hive and clustered about 2 feet away in some vines surrounding my mulch pile. I shook a clump of them back into the hive at that spot and put the inner cover on. The rest of the bees went to it during the day. I put the outer cover on and then left the hive alone for a few days. Yesterday, I went in and saw an unmarked queen and a frame with eggs. I'll take the excluder away from the bottom board and start moving the hive toward my stands. The bees were not nearly as hot as they had been.