Adventures in Beekeeping: A Swarm in the Apple Tree

Beekeeping always keeps us on our toes and this week, the bees gave us quite an adventure.

Back on May 4th, we installed a Carniolan/Italian hybrid nuc into one of our hives here on the farm. From the start, this colony was strong but always had a bit of a "swarmy" temperament. Despite our best efforts — adding space, monitoring closely, and giving them plenty of room to expand. Sometimes when bees decide to swarm, there's simply no talking them out of it.

The Swarm Event

Around lunch time, we had the fortuitous chance to actually watch the swarm happen. The nectar flow is on and, at first, it seemed that bees might just be taking full advantage. However, it became clear quickly that something was happening. The bees poured out of the colony, left the hive, and began circling the apiary before settling, quite high up, in one of the nearby apple trees.

As is often the case when rushing to capture a swarm, the first ladder we grabbed was too short. The second was still not quite tall enough, but it got us close enough to attempt a capture.

The Capture Attempt

With a nuc filled with frames of drawn comb in hand, we initially tried to gently shake the swarm ball into the box. Many of the bees dropped in and even started fanning (a good sign they were trying to call others in) but the queen stayed stubbornly in the tree. Eventually, the bees in the box would rejoin the cluster.

After a couple attempts of this, there were so many bees flying around that it became unclear whether we were dealing with a single swarm or multiple swarms. So we had to take the chance and wait, and let the bees sort it all out. Eventually, the bees all returned to a single ball with the swarm queen.

Realizing a more decisive step was needed, we carefully cut the small branch the bees were clustered on. We positioned a couple of nucs underneath the branch's expected drop point. As the branch was cut, the cluster broke apart and many of the bees rained down directly into the open nuc boxes.

Watching and Waiting

Once the bees were down, we paused to let nature do its work. The bees quickly located their queen and began marching into the nuc, fanning strongly at the entrance, which can be a good indication that the queen was safely inside. There's always a chance here that the bees won't like the nuc and the queen will stay outside of it, with the bees balling off the frames. But, luckily for us, the bees seemed to be quite excited about that pre-drawn comb.

What's Next

With the swarm safely contained, we closed up the nuc and relocated it down to the farmstand area. This distance helps prevent the foraging bees from becoming confused and accidentally returning to the original hive location. If we had more beeyards, maybe we'd move them a greater distance -- but our operation isn't large enough for that yet.

For now, the swarm seems content in their temporary home. If they continue to settle well, we'll move them into a permanent hive in the coming days. As always, there's a chance a recently captured swarm may decide to abscond (leave again), but so far the signs are positive.

This kind of hands-on experience is part of what makes beekeeping both humbling and deeply rewarding. Each colony has its own personality, and every season brings new lessons. And as much as we think we may know, there's always more to learn (and nothing ever seems to go to plan).