With Harold Williams.
The month of May is decidedly the start of the swarming season and already the first call has come in.
More will assuredly follow. This first swarm was at a very convenient height on an apple tree and very easy to collect.
The call was received at 1pm. So, using a nucleus box that contained five frames of ready-drawn comb and held directly beneath the swarm, it was just a case of shaking the branch that they had settled on. The shaking caused the bulk of the swarm to fall into the box and as the Queen was amongst them, the rest of the swarm soon got the message and lost no time in joining her.
How did the rest of the swarm that was still on the tree know their Queen was in the box that was now on the ground directly beneath them? A pheromone message is released!
How? The bees on the top of the box (no lid on yet) raise their rear ends and expose a gland that releases a chemical signal directing the other members of the swarm as to their whereabouts, this is also a very visible sign that the beekeeper becomes aware of. She/he can now leave the box in situ and by adding a lid, the bees can be left until late evening when all being well, external activity has ceased and the swarm are all in and settled for the night.
The box is now closed up and transported to a site (apiary) that will become their permanent home. The nucleus box is only a temporary residence for the swarm and if after two days they are still in it, they will be transferred to a full size hive that contains 11 frames. For a beginner, this swarm is a chance to get some of their sheets of wax foundation drawn out into storage cells.
All swarms are pre-programmed to build a new home – a comb made from wax. So, if the swarm can be fed liquid feed, they will very quickly draw out those frames into usable units. The feeding saves them a lot of foraging trips.
At the moment, I have scout bees assessing a nucleus box in my garden that I use for swarm collecting.
Harold Williams.
🌟 This article first appeared in the printed edition of the Glamorgan Star on 19.05.22.
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