Latest / Honey Bee Obscura Podcast / Plain Talk: The Wayward Swarm, Part 2 (282)

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Plain Talk: The Wayward Swarm, Part 2 (282) · Honey Bee Obscura Podcast

0:01
Jim Tew: Well listeners, I spared you the walk from the shop to the shed to the bee yard.
0:08
Jim Tew: Yeah, what do I pick up?
0:11
Jim Tew: When I finished the segment last week I was in the middle of a debacle.
0:17
Jim Tew: I was trying to tell you
0:20
Jim Tew: I wanted to know more about these oscillating flush-cut cutters to see if I could use them.
0:27
Jim Tew: Pardon me while I get my veil zipped
0:31
Jim Tew: If I could use them to cut through that thick, thick propolis that is on those hives that haven't been opened in so long.
0:40
Jim Tew: I'm afraid you're going to break the frames trying to get it out
0:44
Jim Tew: And I went out today to exercise.
0:47
Jim Tew: And I thought, well, Jim, just don't go back and look.
0:50
Jim Tew: Just don't go look.
0:52
Jim Tew: Just let them go.
0:54
Jim Tew: Can you think I can do that, beekeepers?
0:57
Jim Tew: Do you think I can actually
0:59
Jim Tew: to do that.
1:01
Jim Tew: So I got back from exercising and I had a look.
1:07
Jim Tew: This is what I found.
1:09
Jim Tew: Beekeepers, I'm Jim Tew.
1:11
Jim Tew: I come to you once a week.
1:14
Jim Tew: I try to talk about something to do with backyard plain-talk beekeeping.
1:19
Introduction: Welcome to Honey Bee Obscura, brought to you by Growing Planet Media, the producers of the Beekeeping Today podcast.
1:29
Introduction: Join Jim Tew, your guide through the complexities, the beauty, the fun, and the challenges of managing honey bees.
1:38
Introduction: Jim hosts fun and interesting guests who take a deep dive into the intricate world of honey bees.
1:45
Introduction: Whether you're a seasoned beekeeper or just getting started, get ready for some plain talk that'll delve into all things honey bees.
1:53
Jim Tew: There's two old pear trees back here in my apiary that I was going to cut down.
1:59
Jim Tew: But they've been here since I moved here.
2:00
Jim Tew: I may have planted them.
2:02
Jim Tew: There used to be an apple and pear orchard back here
2:07
Jim Tew: They're eaten up with fire blight every year.
2:11
Jim Tew: They really don't make any pears, but they'd offer a little shade and they're a tree.
2:15
Jim Tew: There's that swarm, beekeepers, ten feet up.
2:21
Jim Tew: I don't know what to say to you because most of you are not my age.
2:25
Jim Tew: And most of you don't live alone
2:29
Jim Tew: So I had made a policy of not getting on a ladder much more than two steps up.
2:37
Jim Tew: Well there hangs a five-pound swarm—my bees.
2:44
Jim Tew: Ten feet up, and I got an eight foot fiberglass ladder about 70 yards away.
2:54
Jim Tew: I said, Jim, don't do it.
3:01
Jim Tew: I just couldn't help it, listeners.
3:02
Jim Tew: I just could not help it
3:06
Jim Tew: Thought I'll get the ladder and then I'll see if I can put a nuc under it with a few old frames in it and then I'll see if I can
3:17
Jim Tew: Get that on top of the ladder and then shake the branches from below.
3:23
Jim Tew: Is that a plan or is that just more slipshod beekeeping?
3:27
Jim Tew: Is that chapter three, four, or five in slipshod beekeeping?
3:31
Jim Tew: And then I did it, listeners.
3:33
Jim Tew: I'm just telling you, I'm not telling anybody else.
3:36
Jim Tew: I tried to go up that ladder with that nuc on my shoulder, and the front legs of the ladder kept coming off the ground.
3:43
Jim Tew: So I knew I had to put more weight forward with that awkward box I was carrying.
3:50
Jim Tew: I put it under my arm
3:53
Jim Tew: So on about the third step off the ground I'm looking at it, I estimate that it's about 30 inches high.
3:59
Jim Tew: And I was going to go up and put that box on the very top and then see if I could by some miracle shake those bees into it.
4:07
Jim Tew: Get them to stay.
4:10
Jim Tew: And with that box under my arm in an awkward position, I was suddenly out of balance
4:16
Jim Tew: And through no control of my own, I spun on my left foot, which had me spinning away from the ladder, and then when I did that, my other foot slipped off the ladder and hit the next step.
4:30
Jim Tew: Slowed me down for a second, but then I hit the ground with both feet and I fell against the fence that's right here and broke my fall
4:40
Jim Tew: So that really is it, listeners.
4:42
Jim Tew: I'm not getting on the ladder.
4:47
Jim Tew: I always have my phone, but one of my advisors said, well Jim, what are you going to do when you fall and you break your phone?
4:55
Jim Tew: I guess I know.
4:56
Jim Tew: I guess there is no plan B.
4:58
Jim Tew: So here I stand looking at this swarm tantalizingly close
5:05
Jim Tew: If I were younger, what would I do?
5:07
Jim Tew: If I were younger, I would get out my chainsaw that hadn't been started in years.
5:12
Jim Tew: I would cut off the opposing limbs that keep me from getting up to it.
5:17
Jim Tew: And then I would climb up that ladder all the way up to the swarm, position the box under it, and then shake them in the box and then brush them in, brush them in, and see if I could coerce them to stay
5:31
Jim Tew: Well, let me tell you for a fact, I'm not getting on a ladder with a chainsaw.
5:35
Jim Tew: Well couldn't they just have left?
5:37
Jim Tew: I mean I shouldn't complain.
5:38
Jim Tew: They stayed in my yard, so don't complain, Jim.
5:41
Jim Tew: At least I'm not doing this over in the neighbor's yard.
5:44
Jim Tew: And one part of me says, leave them alone in case they move and go over to the neighbor's yard.
5:52
Jim Tew: It's not much of a pear tree.
5:54
Jim Tew: It's only got about an eight-inch diameter.
5:58
Jim Tew: I've already shaken them five times.
6:01
Jim Tew: The first time was a laughable debacle.
6:06
Jim Tew: I don't know why I tell you so much truth.
6:08
Jim Tew: I'm supposed to have experience in bees, but I can still do remarkably stupid things.
6:15
Jim Tew: I reached up and I grabbed the closest limb and I gave that five-pound swarm a good shake and I covered myself with no protective gear, not even a hat on.
6:27
Jim Tew: I covered myself in bees.
6:30
Jim Tew: So you know the drill.
6:32
Jim Tew: I don't know if you've ever done it or not, but you tactfully retreat.
6:36
Jim Tew: I stood in the sun to warm the bees up because I thought that they'd probably want to get back to the cluster and I think they did.
6:44
Jim Tew: They're not staying in that box, listeners.
6:47
Jim Tew: So I went straight back to the to the shed to the shop and I got my gear on
6:54
Jim Tew: And every time I shake this thing, bees shower down on me.
6:57
Jim Tew: I've been stung three times.
6:58
Jim Tew: That's not the end of the world, but more stings than you use to get with a swarm.
7:03
Jim Tew: Nope, they're not staying in that box.
7:06
Jim Tew: I'm going to shake them again.
7:08
Jim Tew: I'm just harassing them now because they made it clear they don't lock the box.
7:14
Jim Tew: And here they come all over me again.
7:19
Jim Tew: And I'm stung
7:21
Jim Tew: I'm they're stinging me because I'm I'm sticking them on me, you know, they're sticking to me.
7:27
Jim Tew: I still got on my running clothes
7:30
Jim Tew: I'm looking for the queen to see if by some miracle she would be on the ground or anywhere around me, so I'm careful where I'm stepping
7:42
Jim Tew: I've still got queen cages from those packages that I released.
7:46
Jim Tew: There's a carry-all that goes behind my tractor.
7:50
Jim Tew: It's right in the way and it's too heavy for me to drag.
7:56
Jim Tew: So that's one thing that's keeping my ladder
7:59
Jim Tew: in the wrong position.
8:02
Jim Tew: Like I said, be grateful for what you got.
8:05
Jim Tew: At least they're in my yard.
8:06
Jim Tew: They're not hanging on my neighbor's yard who has a sensitivity that stings and has to carry it
8:13
Jim Tew: an anaphylaxis kit.
8:16
Jim Tew: Won't shake them again, listeners.
8:18
Jim Tew: See if I can keep them interested in that box.
8:25
Jim Tew: Can't shake them all off.
8:26
Jim Tew: I bet you that coin
8:27
Jim Tew: stuck in the third that remains on the limb.
8:32
Jim Tew: Listeners.
8:35
Jim Tew: Prognosis from me getting this swarm is not good.
8:38
Jim Tew: Let's take a break.
8:41
Jim Tew: Well I accept that fact.
8:45
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8:47
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8:48
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8:52
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8:56
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8:59
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9:04
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9:06
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9:09
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9:09
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9:10
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9:14
Jim Tew: Yesterday when I walked by that colony, they had all the signs that they were going to go.
9:22
Jim Tew: And I was talking to you last week in the segment that ran last week.
9:29
Jim Tew: I was talking to you then that that colony was going to go
9:34
Jim Tew: And then I went about my business and talked about other things.
9:40
Jim Tew: And that colony did go while I was in the yard, but it came right back.
9:45
Jim Tew: And I made the comment as I was ending the segment in chaos that I had the feeling that it was going to come back
9:53
Jim Tew: What was that feeling about, listeners?
9:55
Jim Tew: I'm not a bee whisperer.
9:57
Jim Tew: In fact, I've admitted everything to you about how many mistakes I make all the time
10:05
Jim Tew: But they just had a feeling about them.
10:08
Jim Tew: They were disorganized.
10:10
Jim Tew: They were all over everywhere.
10:12
Jim Tew: They weren't centralizing on anything
10:15
Jim Tew: It didn't look right.
10:17
Jim Tew: So either they were just getting in the air and waiting for a place to bivouac or something had gone wrong.
10:24
Jim Tew: What?
10:25
Jim Tew: Well everybody says the queen didn't go
10:28
Jim Tew: That's the only reason I know of, but that must be the reason.
10:31
Jim Tew: Why didn't the queen go?
10:32
Jim Tew: She's intrepid? She's fearful? Or what?
10:36
Jim Tew: So I don't know about that.
10:40
Jim Tew: But they went back.
10:42
Jim Tew: But all that tells you, listeners, as you very well know, is that you got a swarm that's going to be leaving probably the next day
10:49
Jim Tew: So when I got out of the car, I just could not stop myself from looking about 80 yards back here.
10:57
Jim Tew: And I could see that big thing hanging in this pear tree above the fence
11:01
Jim Tew: Every time I shake them, listeners, they go back up to the limb a little bit higher.
11:07
Jim Tew: What would you do?
11:08
Jim Tew: You've got a swarm ten feet up and you really have to stay on the ground.
11:15
Jim Tew: Got limited equipment.
11:16
Jim Tew: Are you going to tell me to put a frame on an extension pole and see if I can lure them to a beeswax frame?
11:25
Jim Tew: People have done that.
11:27
Jim Tew: With all these contorted, uncut pear limbs, there's just obstacles everywhere.
11:35
Jim Tew: It's a miracle that I've got a live limb to shake on.
11:41
Jim Tew: And I have to tell you, they're going to be pretty stupid beast except that box I've gone in because the comb in it is really not impressive.
11:49
Jim Tew: Maybe if I'd put honey in it, that would have helped, but then I'm always skittish about losing control of robbing.
11:59
Jim Tew: I didn't think I would care.
12:01
Jim Tew: You know, I told you I had too many bees back here.
12:04
Jim Tew: I don't really have any equipment now, extra equipment.
12:09
Jim Tew: And I thought I just wouldn't care and they would go and I wouldn't know they'd gone and it wouldn't be painful.
12:16
Jim Tew: And I just could not stop myself from looking back here
12:21
Jim Tew: What is it?
12:22
Jim Tew: Who who said it was it Einstein who said it's a crazy person that keeps doing the same things and expecting a different outcome
12:32
Jim Tew: Well for about the eighth time I'm going to shake this limb just just to stir them up again and I bet you for the eighth time they're going to go right back up
12:43
Jim Tew: to that spot they've selected.
12:45
Jim Tew: And I might add there's never been a swarm in this spot before.
12:49
Jim Tew: I was looking at a hibiscus bush that they've swarmed in over and over again.
12:58
Jim Tew: Alright, here's my bee bath.
13:02
Jim Tew: I'm really giving it a shake this time.
13:06
Jim Tew: Now I'm covered in bees.
13:08
Jim Tew: They're on the ground, not all of them.
13:12
Jim Tew: Look for the queen, watch where you step.
13:15
Jim Tew: If I kill the queen accidentally, would the swarm go back or would it just stay a queenless swarm and go someplace and not be successful?
13:25
Jim Tew: I suspect
13:26
Jim Tew: I don't think that's what would happen.
13:27
Jim Tew: I don't I don't think they would go back.
13:31
Jim Tew: There's some rain clouds coming in.
13:35
Jim Tew: The box might look better to them as the rain cloud comes in and when I drop them they do fall.
13:41
Jim Tew: into the box.
13:43
Jim Tew: I was going to try to do a a segment on why swarms come back.
13:48
Jim Tew: I was going to think about that some and ask you to think about it
13:51
Jim Tew: How do you tell they're coming back?
13:53
Jim Tew: And why do they come back?
13:54
Jim Tew: Other than the queen not going?
13:57
Jim Tew: Do the bees ever change their mind for other reasons?
14:02
Jim Tew: Would it have something to do potentially with scout bees and home nest sites, future sites?
14:08
Jim Tew: Or is the queen not going the only reason?
14:11
Jim Tew: But I didn't have time to do it.
14:13
Jim Tew: There are a few bees in the box.
14:17
Jim Tew: But there's a lot more on the limb.
14:18
Jim Tew: Here's number 10.
14:23
Jim Tew: They're really stuck on that limb though.
14:25
Jim Tew: They won't let go.
14:27
Jim Tew: They don't drop off cleanly and they go right back to it because they've got a great
14:31
Jim Tew: great scent field set up.
14:34
Jim Tew: I was going to come home, change out of my what I lovingly call my PE clothes, and go look at that gadget to see if I could get excited about
14:46
Jim Tew: opening hives that are essentially unopenable.
14:50
Jim Tew: And here I am wasting the afternoon with the swarm, but I know I'm not going to be able to get.
14:57
Jim Tew: I'm not going to go back on that on that ladder.
15:00
Jim Tew: I just can't do it.
15:03
Jim Tew: I'm not going to zip line anymore.
15:05
Jim Tew: I'm not going to waterski.
15:07
Jim Tew: I'm not going to bungee jump.
15:09
Jim Tew: And I'm not going to go up on a ladder to chase a swarm of bees.
15:13
Jim Tew: I just can't take the risk of a fall now.
15:17
Jim Tew: So I'm limited in what I can do.
15:20
Jim Tew: This is just the after-effects of these bees being left on their own.
15:25
Jim Tew: And I cavalierly told myself, I'm leaving them here, listeners.
15:29
Jim Tew: I'm I'm going to stay there and watch what they're going to do.
15:31
Jim Tew: I'm going to leave them
15:32
Jim Tew: I can't cavalierly say that I was just going to let them go and not worry about it.
15:38
Jim Tew: And then when I saw them going, I do worry about it.
15:43
Jim Tew: I wasn't going to worry about them when they died in the winter.
15:46
Jim Tew: And I came out here and did silly things like putting duct tape on them to try to do something to help them winterize.
15:53
Jim Tew: And they did get through the winter, most of them did
15:56
Jim Tew: So now the yard's growing up, deep in grass, got litter everywhere.
16:00
Jim Tew: I'm going to get my walk-behind cutter out, clean up some of it.
16:05
Jim Tew: I liked having the wildflowers here last year
16:09
Jim Tew: They're clustering back up there, beekeepers.
16:11
Jim Tew: I don't want to watch it.
16:13
Jim Tew: I don't have a way to keep time.
16:16
Jim Tew: I do this by the seat of my pants, and I think I'm early
16:20
Jim Tew: But I'm going to tell you bye and I'm going to predict that this swarm is going to go their own way.
16:28
Jim Tew: So I'll be making some other beekeeper's day probably here in the next few days when a swarm lands nearby.
16:34
Jim Tew: Well I had empty equipment right here.
16:36
Jim Tew: Why couldn't they choose that?
16:37
Jim Tew: It's better to go.
16:39
Jim Tew: A couple of empty deeps that were out in the bottom boards and tops.
16:43
Jim Tew: All the extra equipment I’ve got.
16:46
Jim Tew: They didn't want it. Until we talk next week.
16:49
Jim Tew: Here's Jim in the process of accepting the fact that he's lost the swarm.
16:55
Jim Tew: Bye-bye.