Catching A Cluster Of Bees In A Combined Swarm Box / Nuc Box.

What's the best size swarm-catching box to collect a swarm of bees in? That's what this video is about - sort of, anyway.
I use my own size frames - they're called Rose frames - but even if you use standard National Brood frames or Medium Langstroths, a five-frame box will probably still suit best for this job. You want a box big enough to get all the bees in obviously, but manageable too - even if you're up a ladder. Make sure it's bee proof before you put the bees in - I find the rubber straps are good for that - and, of course, it must be well ventilated..
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If you would like to help and encourage us then please do! It's easy and means such a lot..
One-off donation - www.paypal.me/wayoutwestblowi...
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[@Chlorate299]

Bees are marvellous creatures.

[@pagegreer700]

There was a comment that you make bee keeping look easy. Haveing watched for over two years, boats,trolleys,.welding, many thing's look easy!

[@celticqaidbear]

You make beekeeping so easy. I wish you do more beekeeping videos.

[@MissMellyVee]

Long time watcher, never commented but I must say you make this look effortless, the bees must be so happy and busy in those little boxes I hope you will share in video the fruits of their labour.....love all your films, there is a magical quality about them, and both of you have such soothing story telling voices....I hope you are both feeling emotionally stronger since you tragic loss, it was heartbreaking to hear....sending warm hugs to you both from Australia xxx

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thank you MMV. I'm not sure that we're stronger yet - still exhausted all the time. But we do appreciate kind messages like yours : - )

[@jimmcdougall3750]

Your new bee's are very calm no suit on

[@kevindrury8390]

Always like you bee videos.

[@chloepatterson1466]

I'm delighted by the fact that you once caught a swarm of bees in a suitcase. Delighted!

[@ezrawall4670]

I miss your beekeeping videos, Tim. Thanks for adding this one to the mix!

[@maehay4065]

Sir I enjoyed seeing how you check with your hives of bee colonies! Who would think bees would be confined in such a small box with the frames you have made and it obviously works since you have been a beekeeper for 40 years! I have never seen anyone catch them from a tree before. Excellent video and great close up photography Tim!👍

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thank you, Mae. It's all so interesting

[@FlannelAcres]

Fascinating creatures! I just love that hummm...

[@GaryBoyd02]

Great video Tim. More bees please.

[@Elavid]

Thanks for teaching us about the birds and the bees!

[@MegaMindyLou]

Bee keeping is so mesmerizing to me. It’s fun to see the different bee types in other countries. I follow a few other bee keeping channels and videos. Yours are quite a bit bigger and darker then I thought they’d be. In Texas if you don’t manage a hive right it gets ‘Africanized’ with a very aggressive nature. I look forward to all your new videos. ❤️

[@noranneduffy]

The sound of bees make me feel calm! Just love them. Im planting more and more native plants each year for them. Just Love them!🐝🌻

[@tadooable]

Nice job Tim 😊

[@moreteavicarfromengland8299]

Real interesting Tim thanks

[@goober650NX]

Brilliant ‼️ Very interesting video. What a marvellous sound from the ventilation grill at the bottom of the box. More people should get into beekeeping and help build up their numbers as they're vital for the environment. Sadly, I think that most people don't realise that and that without them we'd be up shit creek without a paddle. Thanks for the video and for taking the time to upload. Wonderful.

[@munrosewarne6551]

Hello Tim, I hope you make more videos about bee keeping, even though you no longer keep bees for a living. I picked up on some new information (sometimes it helps to have an experienced bee keeper to join the dots,) from your lovely narration. I’m trying out your rose hive method in Melbourne Australia, and I’m sure our differences in climate will make some of the features of your method salient. If you’re reading this now, Merry Christmas. m

[@helenp81]

Amazing little things 😍

[@lucaduke1921]

So fascinating!

[@sarahmccarthy1986]

Fascinating! Goodness!

[@jamesboyle1038]

That video was a treat and half very good

[@chefevilee9566]

This is so interesting. I have been watching this Bee guy named Dr. Leo. He is from Poland. And my husband and I are going to try to catch a wild swarm or 9! Well the reason why I mention that he is from Europe is because he was talking about the boxes. Now he has blueprints on his website to build that little box that you have to catch a swarm in. But he was also talking about how over in Europe they use horizontal hives. He also has blueprints for that on his website. I think it’s a way better idea? I love the information you gave about how the bees will go back to its original hive when you put them in early. That is very interesting. I will tell you what. It takes a lot of guts to balance on top of the ladder and shake a live hive into a box. Lol You are a wild man Tim!

[@WayOutWestx2]

It's too cold here for horizontal hives, Lee - but I know they do well in warmer countries and they're easier to manage. (Bees need to keep their broodnest the same temperature as humans - 37 C, and that's hard if they're spread out horizontally..)

[@chefevilee9566]

Way Out West Blow-in blog Well thank you. I can’t wait to start on our Bee Keeping adventure. My husband and his friend Eric are going to make the boxes this fall. The temperature here in the bottom of South Carolina is 102 in the shade today! No bee box building happening down here right now!

[@roycarter6235]

I like your inner tube holdfasts

[@RS-lv2lk]

Yay! Another beekeeping video! Keep them coming. I love to see you working the bees. Please make more videos to compliment your book on the Rose Hive method. R

[@josephwoodall832]

Very nice

[@tomhickey1266]

Lovely video

[@barres5584]

stunning stuff Tim!

[@adgandd]

I really look forward to another beekeeping video, this one was very good Tim! I would love if you would explain a bit more about bee lineages / varieties and what makes them different from one another.

[@WayOutWestx2]

I hoped to make more bee videos this summer but we were knocked sideways and it didn't happen - perhaps next year

[@brianmoore5498]

very nice. best bee video i have seen

[@timothymitchell9956]

Nice! Thanks you!

[@myoldreteacher]

Fascinating... I love this kind of video.

[@summerwood619]

Great job, if it’s my video I’d call it For the love of Bees...

[@racheltaylor8975]

Great video!!

[@jindriskamachatova5114]

Absolutely wonderful video. Thank you. I would welcome more videos about bees.

[@Ranger10700]

So interesting! I never really put much thought into how apiaries started and I guess this is close to it! Great job catching that many.

[@slokestope3769]

Tim u madman!

[@toms4123]

What a lovely account..

[@benmatthews3732]

That was fascinating. More bee videos please!! (Bonnie)

[@mozismobile]

I love it. Down here the drought means all the local beekeepers have more bees than they can keep, so when swarms migrate into the city it gets a bit sad. I've had a "wild" swarm in the garden at my old place (they just arrived and used an old door that was leaning on the fence half hidden behind a bush), but now I have native bees instead. Most don't sting, are generally solitary, but are very cute.

[@improprietary1]

They certainly make their opinion heard through the box. Good thing you were wearing your kit.

[@RoseThistleArtworks]

Very interesting. They are so industrious. I like learning about new things from someone who loves the subject. I thought you would somehow cut the branch and gently place them in the box. I was stunned at how effective your technique is.

[@rhno3842]

You’ve helped me a lot sir.

[@makingitthrough190]

If you keep bees, the bees keep you! Thanks for the lovely video. I'm pretty sure that raw, local honey helps keep seasonal allergies at bay. I don't keep bees but always locate local honey wherever I live and support those who do.

[@63256325N]

Very cool! Thanks for the video. 👍

[@andyobrien3612]

Your a brave man tim. Im not afraid of bees but id be terrified of opening that box with no suit on. Nice video, maybe a series on bee keeping for beggingers?

[@PhantomQueenOne]

They certianly have built their comb very quickly. The bee keepers in the area here love getting swarms of feral honeybees. You have to be very careful of Africanised killer bees though, they will keep stinging you even AFTER you are dead.

[@WayOutWestx2]

yes, they're supposed to be similar in temperament to our native bee - but I haven't tried

[@dr5674]

Very interesting! I'm planning to start two hives in the spring. I'm new to beekeeping. Watching your videos help !

[@WayOutWestx2]

Best of luck with it DR!

[@TheMrWoodsman]

how very interesting.

[@ralpha679]

I used to love collecting swarms. It was about the only thing I was good at as a beekeeper!

[@gregmonaghan]

Yes! Another bee video. I love to see your insight as I have just started beekeeping this year using Rose Hives. Keep on showing us how verstile they are.

[@rubygray7749]

First time I've seen you go commando beekeeper Tim! I hope you can share some more of your wisdom with us. This was lovely.

[@annhutcheson5770]

A bee whisperer! 😳 🤯🤯🤯 #gifted

[@WayOutWestx2]

when I lived in the UK I had gentle orange buckfast bees and rarely had to wear anything much - but these are a different matter entirely : - )

[@louverousse9023]

What a treat for me ! Thank you so much Sir ! Loved hearing the girls singing once in the box ! And the Queen was a lovely one !

[@Dick.C.Normous]

Love the both of you glad to have you in my country! much love

[@noranneduffy]

Thumbnail💚👊

[@tealkerberus748]

I can see the point of the corflute swarm boxes, though. They're weather resistant enough for the few weeks until you move the hive into a full size box anyway, but so much lighter than a timber box to carry up a ladder!

[@suecastillo4056]

Facinating!!! I love bees! Thank you for sharing these precious little beings❤️❤️❤️🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝👑🐝🐝

[@christinebrush4399]

Amazing creatures....well-voiced over, thanks, Tim.

[@WayneCarolan]

You never fail to inspire and impress me with your knowledge.

[@suecastillo4056]

Catapult them across the field !!!!! They would've too! Thanks for being kind!!!😂😂😂🌻🌻🌻🌻🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🙋

[@solarbear3621]

It's always been a dream of mine to get into bee keeping someday, thanks for showing us a piece of that, Tim!

[@enriquemares9317]

Awesome video! You experience in bee keeping is can help us out here, keep on making more videos I'd like to know a few of the tricks you have learned playing with the bees

[@Mkangur2]

Tim ! Do more BEEK videos !

[@deedrahburgoynesearfoss6280]

That was great... I love watching bees... Hopefully you will let us see you transfer them to the bigger hive

[@toothaching]

How perfectly wonderful. Thank you for sharing. :)

[@insanezombieman753]

That's crazy how you handle the boxes without gloves and they don't sting you. Bees usually go out of their way to sting me even though I'm minding my own business with no hive in sight

[@momtomtse]

Going to start our beekeeping adventure next spring, really hoping to catch a local swarm ❤ Thanks for all your teaching!

[@WayOutWestx2]

Good luck - they're the best!

[@DarrellCraig]

You will be amazed

[@recklessroges]

I saw the queen. She seemed full of beans and not being mobbed of harangued by her workers.

[@arabellaarabella8840]

I wonder if y'all have read Black Bees and White Goats by Donald Grant? It is a simple and charming account of an older American couple who farm in Ireland in the 1950's. It is one of my favorite books and often your farm reminds me of his descriptions of Ireland. If I find a copy, I'll send it your way.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Yes, we've both read that Arabella. If I remember it was a sweet friendly book. The authors were some of the first back-to-the-land immigrants here and many followed in their path

[@suecastillo4056]

Sorry! Spectacularly across the field!!!👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🙋🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🐝🌻🌻🌻🌻

[@jfr55man]

Hi Tim, I have recently bought a property and would like to start keeping my own bees. It would be great if you made a series on bee keeping considering you have so much experience. Perhaps you could make a series that would help guide first time bee keepers like myself.

[@mohammedtroy4296]

sandra is the queen B

[@workwithnature]

Nice video Tim and a belated bless you, sneeze haha

[@WayOutWestx2]

Thanks David

[@workwithnature]

@@WayOutWestx2 and real sorry to hear about your loss.

[@bluef1sh926]

2 days and they almost filled the frame with new cells. WOW

[@oneshotme]

So why haven't you been doing more on bee keeping since you've been doing it so long?? Very much enjoyed your video and gave it a Thumbs Up

[@WayOutWestx2]

I dropped from 120 hives to 5 or six and so there was just so much less to film. But I'm building up a little again, so who knows..

[@sburge1989]

I am really interested in keeping a few bee's. Not for the Honey but to help the bee's. A few have made little mud nests in the wind chimes in the garden. Would you be willing to do a few short videos about bee's, hives and keeping them? I do some woodworking and would love to make a hive.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Sounds like you have masonry bees? They're lovely too, but completely different from honey bees. Yes, I'll do more videos about bees one day

[@DarrellCraig]

You should try it

[@hankchinaski4651]

May I recommend you try brewing some mead. Best wishes.

[@samuelfindley3490]

Super video! My wife and I have been keeping bees in Langstroth hives for the last 6 years, but, since she's the primary keeper (and not strong), the supers (even the mediums) are a bit much for her. I did make a top-bar hive for her three years ago, but it didn't work too well for us. I just finished reading "the idle beekeeper", in which the warre hive features. Now I just learned that you have book of your own (I just ordered it from your website: www.rosebeehives.com/the-rose-hive-book.html). Can't wait to read it!

[@WayOutWestx2]

I hope you like it Samuel!

[@pipmagwitch]

Tim, when you transfer the colony into a full hive then presumably you need to locate it exactly where the nuc box has been set up?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Yes, that'sright, Philip. With the entrance facing the same way...

[@marthaanderson2656]

Happy to see you with your bees. Is it possible to have too many bees on your property? Do you have to loan some out?

[@WayOutWestx2]

we're not limited by flowers here, Marha - just by the weather. In a good year we could probably have fifty hives here, but I limit them to twenty, just in case.

[@josephinebaker3729]

Hi Tim, I was just wondering with standard hives people often say you can add supers too soon because of heating the hive etc. I was just wondering , with the rose hive method, when adding boxes to the "middle" , does the same principle apply? Whats your view on when to add boxes and do you think you can add them too soon? Thanks , J

[@WayOutWestx2]

Yes, you certainly could add them too soon. It's critical not to create a cold empty gap in the hive. Wait till the existing boxes are full and the bees really need another box. Good luck!

[@robertmurphy9498]

Thank you so much for the education. Iv just started building my first hive boxes as a woodwork project to keep me busy while all this isolation thing runs its course. Do you have any tips on swarm traps? I was thinking of just mounting the boxes on poles or trees with some foundation in and trying swarm trap wipes. Is there a more economical method i could use?

[@WayOutWestx2]

I've not had much success with traps, Robert. But I would suggest comb might work better than foundation, even if it's old and broken. Good luck.

[@robertmurphy9498]

@@WayOutWestx2 i will try and get some. Thanks for the tip.

[@johnosullivan675]

I've been using homemade foundation for about 2 years, inspired by your simple method of making it. I noticed you're using strips of hex printed foundation in this nuc. Have you stopped making your own for some reason, or was it just more convenient to buy some this year?

[@WayOutWestx2]

It's just that I found a box of foundation sheets that I had. And at the rate I use them it will last me a couple more years. My home-made sheets are still more brittle than the foundation, but I'll happily go back to them once the foundation is used up.

[@wormwood6424]

Gosh! African bees are way different to those.

[@kylecanaday9404]

This year my garden (zone 8A) has seen a significant increase in the number of arthropods of all sorts, but highly aggressive yellow jackets and hornets seem to have taken over the past few weeks. They have likely made their nests on the properties of my more neglectful neighbors. I have also been finding an alarming number of bumblebees sadly grounded with missing/damaged wings. The yellow jackets even chase away the fledgling hummingbirds from their feeders! Are there methods beekeepers employ to help protect their bees from this sort of threat without eliminating the aggressors from the ecosystem?

[@WayOutWestx2]

I wish that was a problem we had in this part of the world - insect numbers across species are in free-fall. If you feel it's a real problem where you are, perhaps your local beekeepers' group could help?

[@moviesfromjeroen]

@ 4:38 do you give them food for the 2 or 3 days? or wil they survive.

[@WayOutWestx2]

they have plenty inside them for a few days at least, so I never feed bees

[@roycarter6235]

Would it be worth spraying a loose cluster with sugar water before shaking them down?

[@WayOutWestx2]

I don't do it, but many do. The time spent heating the water, disolving the sugar and then waiting for it to cool could cost you the swarm. And it won't run off them like water, so they could get too cold if you put too much on. Remember that they carry enough food for three or more days. It's all interesting, isn't it?!

[@roycarter6235]

@@WayOutWestx2 I understand. Thank you

[@colmseoighe]

so Tim are they your bees in the tree or did they just come there or did they leave the hive and go up there?

[@WayOutWestx2]

They were a swarm from one of my hives, so half of the bees in the hive set off to find a new home and half stayed behind. That's how bees reproduce.

[@colmseoighe]

@@WayOutWestx2 that's so interesting ..I suppose you could say they create a splinter hive..is it always done?

[@WayOutWestx2]

Any good size colony will swarm every year at least once. They can start in March in the south and go through till August. (And then there are cast swarms..) It's all so interesting!

[@robertjackson9601]

Tim, great job getting them in the box. With a shake like that I would have had them all over me and none in the box. Like the inner tube trick. This is a swarm we caught last year at our farm in N. Florida. Watch "2018-03-18 Swarm Capture" on KZbin kzbin.info/www/bejne/gGbLZHVrp7Z1ors

[@robertjackson9601]

Your outlook is a lot like mine. The more you know about bees the more they amaze me. Was exposed as a kid and they still amazing.

[@WayOutWestx2]

Fine big orange bees you have there, Robert - well done.

[@tropifiori]

I had colony collapse twice and gave up. I am not sure if I should try again

[@WayOutWestx2]

Very miserable. Third time lucky!

[@DarrellCraig]

3rd time a charm

[@DarrellCraig]

3rd time a charm

[@FloryJohann]

It is my fourth year. The first 2 years my bees died over winter. I st year was because of lack of food and mites and second year was the mites. Treat, treat , treat for mites starting in summer so you are having healthy bees with less mites. 3rd year I started treating for mites and I listen to Kamon Reynolds on youtube. I got my hives over the winter and my bees are exploding and I am splitting hives and running out of equipment. Also I am making nucs just in case something happen to my hives.

[@Paul-sc6ic]

When you put the lid back on do you have to just assume that some bees will be squashed? Or do they manage to get out of the way?

[@DirtbagGospel]

50/50 there is often a lot of bee squashing, the smoke helps push the bees away from where they might be squished and if you move slow enough most have time and space to get out of the way, so the more experienced you are, the better you are at reducing harm but some collateral is pretty much inevitable... ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@WayOutWestx2]

They move away as soon as they feel something on their backs, so if you go gently and slowly you don't squash any at all. But in big hives with thousands of bees in the way bees do get squashed sometimes.

[@Paul-sc6ic]

@@WayOutWestx2 thanks, I find the bee videos fascinating, it's something I've always wanted to try

[@benjamindejonge3624]

Yep the bee bug pitch you again

[@Kevin_Morales_Tube]

Bzzzzz bzzzzz 🐝 :)

[@kenrubo]

What happened to the old beekeeping dude convalescing after a medical emergency? Swarm.

[@workwithnature]

Yeah bees don't read books.

[@raraavis7782]

Ieeeehhhh...that sound makes my hair stand on end 😬 Not a job for me, bee keeping! But I‘m sure glad, there are people, who enjoy handling the little suckers 👍

[@louverousse9023]

Bees really are wonderful creatures, they normally do not sting if not bothered .

[@AK-fz2wq]

God very dangerous