Something very exciting happened last Wednesday- our brand new hive swarmed. Now this could have been bad or good; for us it was good. There are various reasons why bees swarm; sometimes they swarm because the queen died and something is wrong. Or, in other cases, the old queen was very productive and had so many babies that the hive gets too crowded. So, as in our situation, some of the bees in a crowded hive decide to move out and take the queen with them and the other bees left in the hive choose a new queen (who gets fed Royal jelly).
The bees decided to swarm close by in one of the espaliered apple trees and I decided to catch them. Having never done this, I figured I should call Sherri of VT Beekeeping, where we purchased the nuc from originally. A nuc is a cluster of bees that you can buy, which is about 3 pounds worth. The queen comes in a little holding box and the worker bees have to eat a sugar plug to release her before they all live together in one hive.
She suggested getting a white sheet and tucking a corner into the hive and watching them walk up, so I did this as a first step. Next, I took one frame of honey from the old hive and made a new deep super up (a type of bee box) for the new bees. I did this wearing shorts. Then I suited up in a Tyvec suit for protection and had Micheal, Adam and Leo help me while I cut the branch. This was so cool and the bees looked like liquid.The bees are engorged with honey, and as a result, are less likely to sting when they are swarming.
I severed the branch and we all ducked under the tree to where the hive and sheet set up was waiting. Then I made everyone else back up while I shook the bees onto the sheet. After a minute or so, one bee went into the hive and then the parade started. We watched in amazement as the bees filed right in- there were a few left kind of far away on the branch so I opened the hive box and shook it over the top and covered them for the night.
The new hive is now behind the hoop house busy as can be, and the old hive is starting build out comb on the top portion of their new bee box. No one got stung – amazing! So, now we have two bee boxes and hope they’ll survive through our harsh Vermont winter!
Chantal Deojay, Farm Manager
