Lesson 29: Catching a Swarm

Free bees, safely: when to take a swarm, how to catch it, and how to hive it

A swarm clustered on a branch is one of the most exciting things in beekeeping, and it can be a free way to start a colony. Property owners are usually glad to have a beekeeper take a swarm away. This lesson covers catching a swarm that's hanging in the open. Bees that have moved into a wall or building are a different, much bigger job (lesson 81).

Swarms are usually gentle

A swarm has no home, brood or stored honey to defend, so swarming bees are generally gentle, whether European or Africanized (lesson 16). They've also filled up on honey before leaving (lesson 12). Still wear your veil; gentle doesn't mean they never sting.

Swarms don't stay put for long. A cluster usually moves on to its new home within a day or two, sometimes within hours, so if you want it, go soon.

Before you go: is this swarm safe to take?

• Can you reach it safely? A swarm on a low branch or bush is ideal. Don't climb tall ladders or trees to reach a swarm; a fall is far more dangerous than stings.
• Is it honey bees? People often call about wasps or other insects (lesson 69).
• Is it a swarm, or an established nest? A clump of bees hanging in the open is a swarm. Bees going in and out of a hole in a wall, tree or structure are an established colony (lesson 81).
• Where Africanized bees are present, a swarm could be Africanized. Hive it away from people, and requeen it with a European queen from a reputable supplier (lesson 16).

What to bring

• Veil, gloves and protective clothing
• A 5-gallon bucket with a lid of window screening, or a cardboard box, or an empty hive or nuc box
• A spray bottle of 1:1 sugar syrup
• Pruning shears or a saw (if you have permission to cut the branch)
• A sheet or board to lay down under the cluster
• Tape for closing up the box

Catching it, step by step

1. Spray the cluster heavily with sugar syrup. Sticky bees fly less.
2. Hold the bucket or box right under the cluster.
3. Give the branch one sharp shake so the cluster drops into the container.
4. Put the lid on (screen or loosely closed), leaving a little ventilation. Swarm bees gather wherever their queen is (lesson 12), so watch the flying bees for a few minutes. If they settle on and into your container, the queen is inside. If they all head back to the branch, she probably isn't; shake again.
5. Keep the bees shaded and ventilated on the trip home.

If the swarm is near your own bee yard: cut the branch (with permission) and simply shake the swarm onto a sheet in front of an empty hive. The bees will march into the hive on their own.

Hiving the swarm

Install a swarm the same way as a package (lesson 26), except there's no caged queen. She's already with the bees.

1. Set up a hive with frames (drawn comb is best; foundation works). Remove a few frames from the middle.
2. Shake the bees into the hive, gently replace the frames, and close it up.
3. Feed 1:1 syrup until they've built comb and a nectar flow is on.
4. Like a package, a swarm in an empty box is more likely to abandon it; the risk drops once there's comb, brood and food. Giving the swarm a frame of drawn comb, or a frame of brood from another colony, can help it settle in.

After you hive it

• Check in a week for eggs, which mean a laying queen came with the swarm (lesson 30).
• You don't know where the swarm came from. Watch it for disease, and check it for varroa mites once it's established (lessons 55 and 58).
• If the colony turns out unusually defensive, requeen it (lessons 16 and 45).

Get on the swarm list

Your county Extension office and local bee club often keep a list of beekeepers willing to collect swarms. Ask them to add your name. Having a spare nuc box in your vehicle during swarm season makes it easy to say yes.

Bait hives

Some beekeepers set out an empty bait hive in swarm season to attract a swarm on its own. Old beeswax comb is the strongest attractant, and a few drops of lemongrass oil can help, because its scent is similar to a pheromone bees use to mark a new home. If a swarm moves in, it may take anywhere from 20 minutes to a day to settle.

What to remember

• Swarms are usually gentle, but wear a veil, and only take swarms you can reach safely.
• Spray, shake into a container, lid on; if the queen is inside, the rest will follow.
• Hive it like a package without the queen cage; feed; drawn comb helps it stay.
• Check for eggs in a week, and watch for mites and disease; the history is unknown.

Quick check

1. Why are swarms usually gentle?
2. You shake a swarm into a box, but within minutes the bees all fly back to the branch. What happened?
3. What's the difference between collecting a swarm and removing bees from a wall?

Show answers

1. They have no home, brood or honey to defend (and they've filled up on honey). 2. The queen didn't end up in the box; the bees returned to her. 3. A swarm is a temporary cluster in the open; bees in a wall are an established colony with comb, which is a much bigger removal job.

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Adapted from: UGA Bee Program, Getting Started: Catching Swarms; Delaplane, K. S., Honey Bees and Beekeeping (UGA Extension Bulletin 1045, rev. 2017); USDA Agricultural Research Service, Africanized Honey Bees Overview; UF/IFAS Extension, Swarm Control for Managed Beehives (ENY-160/IN970) and Using Nucs in Beekeeping Operations (ENY153/IN869); Utah State University Extension, Thriving Hives: The Apiary (2024).

Photos: see lesson 12.

Adapted from university Extension sources. Experienced Georgia beekeepers are reviewing these lessons. See something that doesn't match your experience? Tell us.