We are seeing bees at our swarm box!! Our hope is that it is a swarm and not just a handful of visiting scout bees.

The number of bees has been a lot, and it has been consistent for more than a week. Today was the day we decided to take down the swarm box and check inside to see what we’ve caught.

Success! The box was heavy and literally filled with bees! They had built all sorts of beautiful, white, new comb, including a LOT of bur comb (sort of a free-form comb not within the frame).

Even better, the queen had filled many cells with eggs, some of which already were capped. It was just what you want to see.

Husband Dave had thought out the entire process of getting a heavy box safely down from a tree. He built a rope sling to steady the box while he unhooked the strap and removed the box from its wire hanger. He then lowered the swarm box with a rope to the ground, where I was waiting anxiously.

This may appear to be a textbook swarm capture but one big question remains: will the bees stay in their new home?

We waited long enough for the queen to lay eggs. Nurse bees will not leave their little ones, so that point has been addressed.

Another potential problem is where we placed the new hive. It is suggested that the new home be at least six miles away to ensure that the foraging field bees do not return to the swarm box location.

We put the new hive in our bee yard just a few hundred yards away from the swarm box. For about an hour lots of bees returned to the oak tree. They have disappeared now and things seem to be calming down.

So we’ll see what happens. As I said in my earlier blog about this process, if only I could put up a sign: ATTENTION BEES – Your new house is right around the corner.

We will see! More to come.

Link to website where Dr. Leo Sharashkin explains how to build a swarm box