Tuesday, March 1, 2011

Bee Swarm Season is Here in Santa Barbara

Bees are now starting to swarm.  In the last couple of weeks I've picked up 4 bee swarms...

2/7 - Isla Vista_ With the help from a friend who climbed the pepper tree to clip the branch as I was perched on a ladder in the bed of my truck with a box... Thanks Jesse. This swarm actually left the deep hive box that I placed it in the next day and I had to rehive it.  It is now doing very well.

2/21 - Goleta_ A nice swarm on a wire fence from a survivor hive.  The hive was located in the base of a large yucca tree and the bees swarmed and balled up on the fence about 45 feet away.



2/28 - Isla Vista_ A swarm that was slightly smaller then the previous two, but the hive (approx. 30 feet away) was in a small cox cable box.  I'm sure the box is full and the bees were itching to find more spacious accommodations.

3/1 - Goleta_ Placed a swarm in a deep hive box today with the help of a friend.  It was a swarm he caught, but didn't have an empty hive box to put it in.  We took the one frame he had in a cardboard box and placed it in a 10 frame deep.  Thanks Jake.

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