April and May are the two most important months in the yearly cycle of a beehive. Most of what they need to survive for the rest of the year is done in April, May and June. This is when they harvest most of the honey, draw most of the comb, and reproduce. The population reaches is peak during these months to accomplish these goals.
This was a unique rescue for us with two colonies in two different walls of a small side house / shed. These bees had been in the walls of this shed for a long time and its interesting how each colony decides which way to draw their combs. Check out our galley below...
If you capture many swarms you will learn a few things are always true: 1. sometimes the swarms leave before you get there; 2. they are not always going to be honeybees; 3. and sometimes the swarm is just to high in they tree to reach easily. Its the facts of chasing bees, not all of them want to cooperate or land in a easy spot for us to capture. We have seen swarms on all kinds of things:cooling ducts, fences, trees, light fixtures, the ground and even cars. These wonderful insects dont always cooperate but here is a simple trick to get the ones up high.
We went on a swarm call the other day to a house in east Springfield, MO. The caller has a bee tree in their yard with a nice colony of bees about 20' off the ground. Well its swarm season and apparently these guys want a little nicotine in there diet lol. The swarm was hanging under a metal patio table and connected to an ash tray full of cigarettes. Yeah first thought was ewww and second thought "Free Bees!", lol.