15 thoughts on “Beekeeping: Catching A Bee Swarm In A Tree”

1. Greg Hill at

   Happy Monday ~TxH~,

   Good video of your Bee Swarm Catching.
   Hope all goes well for your efforts.
   Greg

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2. Amanda at

   Congratulations on catching your first swarm! The old beekeepers who taught the class i took this spring said that in their experience, swarms can be drawn to other hives. All of them had stories about going out to check on their bees and finding a swarm that wasn’t theirs hanging out nearby. One said he keeps an empty hive body open out in his driveway during swarm season just in case, and one year he caught four swarms in just a few days that way, no work at all except to move the new hive to the backyard and put out another empty box!

   You never know, you could find another swarm tomorrow!

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      Interesting, Amanda. We have a couple of swarm boxes set up but none are really close to the hives. Perhaps we need to relocate one of them. Thanks for the tip! ~TxH~

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3. Laurinda at

   That was really cool to read and see, thank you!

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      Thanks Laurinda. It was so exciting for us! ~TxH~

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4. tonia conner at

   Very interesting, I thought it would more time consuming as well. You make it look easy, but I’m sure there’s more to it than it looks like. What kept them in the bucket until you poured then on to the hive box?

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      Tonia, the bees fell into the bucket and although some flew back out, most of them stayed in the bucket. We simply poured the bucket out over the open hive box and they made their way down into the frames. It was so awesome! ~TxH~

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5. ColleenB. at

   I applaud your bravery.
   For some reason the video won’t load for me. :{

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      Oh no, Colleen! Depending upon your internet connection & the device you’re using, the video may need to buffer first after you click the play button. It could take 15-20 seconds. Hopefully that helps – let me know! ~TxH~

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      1. ColleenB.~Texas at

         Went to Google Chrome and was able to watch the video :} Great teamwork.
         Hope you will keep us posted on your new collected hive. Hope they are doing well

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         1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

            Awesome, glad you could view the video Colleen. Sometimes It’s just easier to understand what’s being said when you can see it in action. ~TxH~

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6. Judy Stewart at

   So interesting! Faster than I would have thought. Thank you for showing the film.

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      I was surprised it went so fast too Judy. Perhaps this was just the perfect setup of circumstances. I’ll be interested in seeing how it goes when we get to catch our next swarm. ~TxH~

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7. Jean at

   You are both a lot braver than I! Congratulations on the new hive. Well done.

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   1. Texas Homesteader Post author at

      I’ve been afraid of bees since I was a kid, Jean. When RancherMan suggested taking up beekeeping I told him that it was HIS endeavor, not mine. But I’d still suit up & go with him to the hives sometimes to take photos for the blog and I learned something important – those bees didn’t care about me. Although I’d assumed all my life that if a bee was nearby its only thought was to seek me out & sting me, I learned that wasn’t true at all. I now accompany RancherMan to the hives almost every time and I continue to learn much each time. This swarm capture didn’t frighten me at all. Yes they were airborne when we shook the limb, but none of them cared about us at all. They were simply sticking close to their queen. It looks like this swam is settling in nicely to their new home and just like that – our 4 hives turned to 5! 🙂 ~TxH~

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