How does a beekeeper get the swarm to go inside the hives?

Answer 1

Bees like to be in a dark place so there are two methods of getting a swarm into a hive. The fastest way is to shake the bees out of the container that they are in, straight onto the top of the frames that are inside the hive and replace the roof of the hive thereby leaving them in the dark and giving them the chance to settle down. If you have time available, it is much more interesting to watch them walk into the hive by themselves. Every hive has a small entrance for the bees near the bottom of the hive. You place a ramp from the ground to the entrance of the hive and shake the bees out of the container that they are in, onto the ramp. When the bees find the hive entrance and realise that it is dark inside, they will start to walk into the hive but as it is a small entrance and there are lots of bees, it will probably take about an hour for them all to get in.

Answer 2

When bees swarm, they are looking for a new home. Capturing a swarm isn't that difficult: the important thing is to get the queen because wherever the queen is, the other bees will follow.

There are various ways to collect a swarm, but they mainly boil down to getting the bulk of the swarm into a box, then place the box upside down on a cloth on the ground with the edge propped up to leave an entrance. If the bees fly out and go back to where they were, you didn't get the queen, so start again. If you did get the queen, the bees left out will all gradually go into the box. When they have, fold the cloth over the box and take it to the hive. The bees are then tipped out on to a board right next to the hive entrance. Some of the bees will investigate the hive and when they find it satisfactory, will stand at the entrance fanning a pheromone which attracts the rest of the swarm. Over the next hour or so they will all walk in to the hive.

It sounds simple, and usually is, though the location of the swarm can create difficulties. Although swarming bees don't have a hive to protect, so are usually quite docile, it is not a job to tackle without protective clothing; and people watching should keep a respectful distance.

Answer 3

They normally start by locating a dark enclosed, dry space (in a tree trunk, roof or wall cavity - or indeed a man made hive).

The colony of bees including the queen move into this and the worker bees use honey that they have stored in their tummies as they left their original hive to make wax (bees wax). they chew up this wax and shape it into a new comb with hexagonal cells. The queen lays new eggs in this and the new colony starts.

With more bees, more time, and more comb is produced to store honey and brood young and the new hive becomes established.

A resinous substance collected from the buds of certain trees (called Propolis) is used by the bees as a cement or sealant to plug up any gaps in the the walls of the hive so that predators can not get in and the hive entrance is guarded by young workers.