# First swarm call for 2019



## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Finally got my first swarm call this year.

A couple from church left a text message on my wife's phone, that they had a swarm at their house and if we wanted it we could have it. 

We tried to contact them to ask if the swarm was still there (my wife didn't read the text message for several hours after it was left), but they didn't get back to us. So, I loaded up the equipment and headed over to their house.

They weren't there, but saw the swarm weighing down a small apple tree's one branch. Swarm would have been about 4' off the ground, but was about 3' off the ground due to the branch bending over. It was a simple matter of putting a box below them, quickly shaking the branch, and the whole swarm fell onto the top of the frames. 

They happily climbed done in, and after continuing to shake the branch for 5 minutes so they didn't regroup, I was able to put the lid on. There were still a few flying around, but 99% were in the hive, so I left them there and will go back in a day or two in the evening to get them.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Sounds like a plan to me. Always good to get a mess of free bees.

 Al


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## Ben10 (Feb 20, 2017)

A swarm of my bees went 30ft in a tree, I'd love to have 4ft. Nice catch.


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## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I had this swarm about 35 feet up. Set up my 10 foot folding extention ladder in the back of a pick up truck,
used my paint extention pole to tape the vacum hose to so I could reach them.


















Talk about tired arms, whew.


 Al


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## Michael W. Smith (Jun 2, 2002)

Finally brought the bees home. (Cataract surgeries and the wet weather prevented me from doing it before.). Went over on Sunday at dusk, and of course not all the bees were inside due to the heat. Knowing that it is to get even warmer this week, I decided to use a plastic garbage bag over the front of the hive, put the hive in the back of my car (leaving the hatch door open), wrapped the hive in a blanket, and brought them home.

Got them home, took them out of the car, unwrapped the blanket, quickly pulled the plastic garbage bag off the hive entrance and got in my car. (I wore my bee suit - no stings.). This was Sunday July 14th.

Tonight I got into the hive to split it. All of the frames has been drawn out and the queen is laying good. Found a very long queen cell cup (not capped yet), but they must have been decided they didn't have enough room - so are planning on swarming.


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## RonTgottagoat (Feb 27, 2014)

If it’s only one cell could it be a supercedure cell And not a swarm cell? I thought I read that many times after a hive swarms that once that hive gets established it’s not uncommon to replace the queen through Superceedure.


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