a fun swarm story - with pictures!!

Monday we were supposed to run errands, like buying plants and finding toad houses. Fun stuff. Instead we tried to catch a swarm of bees that had perched in a tree in the backyard. Also fun? Depends on how you define it.

I'd just come back from a run and sent Jamie off with a neighbor to the gun store, and I was outside checking on things. To my sheer amazement, I saw another swarm, the 9th of the season. I called and let him know that we needed to get some swarm catching gear from Lowes; a bucket with lid and 100 feet of rope. I'd be at home preparing 5 frames with foundation, making sugar water and finding a broom.

I'd tried making the nuc as attractive as possible by including a frame that had honey on it already.

We concluded that were going to hoist a bucket up to just underneath the large, undulating, buzzing mass of bees, spray them with sugar water to keep them busy/occupied/not angry, and coax them into a bucket and then dump them into an extra hive we have.

Most of you are probably thinking that catching a swarm sounds like a good time. I bet you'd want to try this just to say you'd tried it.

It was dangerous, the ladder could have slipped off the tree sending Jamie taking a nose dive and possibly breaking bones, or worse. It was tedious, you try holding a bucket over your head, while holding on to a ladder, while spraying bees with sugar water and sweeping them into the bucket, then putting on a lid. Without falling. It was thrilling, to have bees dropping from the swarm onto me because they didn't go into the bucket when they should have.

And you try doing it twice. Once to see how it works, and a second time to make the bees really, really angry.

After the first attempt the bees that were sprayed with sugar water that didn't make it into the bucket dropped to the ground and made little pfft and thud sounds. We dumped the bees into the nuc and Jamie volunteered to go back up to get more. Partly because we're greedy and want lots of bees. Partly because he didn't know if he'd gotten the Queen and we need the Queen in the nuc to keep the bees in the nuc.

Turns out that bees only tolerate the whole being swept into a bucket once. Jamie got stung on his forehead during the second try, the stinger was still attached when he came down off the ladder. I'd gotten stung on my left ear. Awesome. Don't make fun of me because I was standing under the ladder with no protective gear on, wearing a tank top and shorts. But do picture it, because it is pretty funny.

The bees didn't stay where we put them, they eventually vacated the building and went right back up to where they were before we risked life and limb. And they've since left our yard, too.

It was really cool, but you don't get to see more pictures because Jamie wanted me to hold the ladder and to "forget that damn camera".

I wish you all could have been here. Don't you?