Swarm on grass walking into box with queen
Swarms begin around late April in Oxfordshire, first in the warmer southern part and the heat islands of the towns and cities, then a couple of weeks later in the rural parts.
In earlier years we’ve written on this blog about how to attract swarms to bait hives, how to catch, and how to hive them. Rather than re-write from scratch, I’m going to simply point at a few exceptionally useful OxNatBees articles from times of yore:
- This article covers the key info you need to know: tools, baiting hives, etc.
- This post has some juicy stories about how things can go horribly wrong. Learn from our fails.
- Here are some useful tips about dealing with the public.
Hope that helps. Any other stories, folks?
A detachable swarm lure on a post at an apiary. Placed where the swarms head anyway, it provides a convenient way to pick them up and place them in a box.
…It has just occurred to me that with everyone locked down right now, they might see more swarms from their hives than they expected… and be surprised by just how many got away while they were usually at work.
