Swarm report (May 2017)

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We opened the volunteer lines up since we’ve started getting more than one call per week it was slow at the beginning of May but we have been very busy since the weather got hot.

  • May 2, 2017: Jen sent Eric to investigate a nest in a compost. He successfully collected bumblebees and relocated them in his yard. He also did a follow up call and there were no more bee’s reported from that location. Great Job Eric!
  • May 9, 2017: Irene reported:  “At 3:55 pm I heard from Peter Day who had spoken to a beekeeper in the Rockland Place area near Gov’t House who has bees (not Carolyn). The beekeeper had a swarm late this morning and captured it himself. The bees did not stay in the digs that were provided for them by their owner and took off again this afternoon. No calls came in yet to refer the beekeeper of the location of his swarm.
  • May 12, 2017: Swarm retrieved for a CRBA beekeeper member Sirus who watched his swarm move. It was collected by Jennifer Olson at the base of a bush and the size of a Gallon jug (big swarm); relocated into a new warre hive that was provided by the beekeeper. His wife assisted in the collecting. Food provided in a zip lock bag at the base of the hive for the swarming bees.
  • May 14, 2017: Cordova Bay area; Bumble Bees in shed insulation; Size of swarm unknown; called all Bumble bee collectors no response; Catherine Culley wants to only do collections in her immediate area which is the Gorge area; Alana Morbin took the call and was going to go to site this morning
  • May 16, 2017: Bumble nest was collected from Cordova Bay Rd this morning and was successful.
  • May 19, 2017: Got a call about a swarm at Taylor St. Called the beekeeper in the area and they said it was not their bees. Collected the swarm and rehoused. Bees settled neatly after being retrieved twice. Luckily into the collectors yard.
  • May 19, 2017: Call received from Brentwood Bay about bumble bees. Barry told him to call the CRBA Swarm line to retrieve hived bumblebees that were in his foundation of his home flying out of a crack in the wall. I told Reed that we are not able to do this type of retrieval but will try to find another beekeeper who can do more difficult to remove bumble bees. In the meantime I asked about the type of bumble bee (black small) and let him know a little bit about the bees which he believed he would be able to live with this season rather than RAID them.
    Another Bumble bee referral in Gordon Head. Werner sent me an email and I called Jason and we talked about how to relocate the bees as they would like to keep them. I explained the process (they are in a bird house) and he seemed to believe he could move them himself. Seemed happy to be a bumble bee keeper this season. Gave him my number if he has problems relocating  them after dark. Jason relocated them however a predator tore apart the hive during the night.
  • May 20, 2017: Peter Day – “I had one call yesterday on the swarm line from Doug and Paige on
    Fernhill Road in Esquimalt. Their hive swarmed into their neighbour’s apple tree. Honey bee swarm yesterday. It was in Metchosin. I collected the swarm and it is now living on a 12 acre farm on the Saanich Peninsula. I had two calls this morning before the phone got switched over to Brad.  One for bumble bees and one for a honey bee swarm. Brad looked after the bumble bee call and I sent the nearest beekeeper to collect the swarm. Werner and Gord from our club went and collected this morning. I will do a follow up with the homeowner tomorrow to make sure she was happy with the way everything was handled.
  • May 22, 2017: I got an email from a new member Kim Miles who wants to register her hives for the Swarm line call back program. Once we have her information I’ll update our list to include her hives.(Done)
  • May 24, 2017: Ruben reported a honey bee swarm was at Fernwood and Johnson.
  • May 25, 2017: Michelle took on a bumble bee report and was able to excavate into a suspected in ground bumble bee nest. One or two bees present. Carefully moved rocks and debris away from the area, but no sign of additional bees or humming characteristic of an established bumble nest. Jen arrived about 45 min into the collection and confirmed that Michelle had been careful and had done all she could. Jen will call the owners in the next couple of days to follow up in case the bees dig themselves out and are indeed hived in the hole. Barry will be called in if this is the case since it is so close to the foundation of the house. The owners have been advised and are in agreement to Barry coming in to assess and remedy the situation and will call him themselves to arrange removal.
  • May 25, 2017: Werner reported additional bee activity… “For what it’s worth, Gord Quite and myself went out on a swarm call at McVicker Rd, but it didn’t want to stay in box we put them it. By the time we came back to collect it ~9:30pm, it was gone. This was on Sunday, if I recall.
    I also collected a swarm on my road, a couple of houses down from where I live – I think it came from a beekeeper just down the road from me. The swarm was eventually collected on Glenridge Dr. and relocated to the original beekeeper’s property“.
  • May 27, 2017: Peter’s Report: “Three calls today, two bumble bee and one swarm. One bumble bee was in an eave up about 12 feet. Gave her Barry’s number for removal for fee. The other bumble bee was in a lawn mower bag in Sidney and we have no volunteers for that area. I advised the home owner how to move it and he was going to try it on his own. The honey bee swarm was from a beekeeper in Langford with no more equipment, so I collected.
  • May 28, 2017: Unfortunately this one was too high for us… Alanna reports “A couple of photos for you on the swarm I couldn’t reach on Sunday morning, I think it was even beyond Barry’s abilities. Residents thought it was about 30ft, my estimate is about 65ft. Swarm was reducing in size and I suspect it was preparing to move on, home is close to Mt.Doug Park. Bees had arrived the afternoon prior. I explained to the residents what they could expect to observe next and if there were any changes or concerns with the swarm, they could call me.
     
  • May 29, 2017: Mike reported “Two wasp calls. One bubble bee call in Colwood, waiting to hear back from Derek to see if he is going to get them.” (pending report)

That’s all for May, Whew! Happy Beekeeping everyone. Keep up the due diligence and may your hives be bountiful.

2 thoughts on “Swarm report (May 2017)

  1. Tim Collins Reply

    Media Request

    Please call me at the Peninsula News Review

    • Werner Grundlingh Reply

      Hi Tim!
      I’ve forwarded your request to our swarm coordinator. Hopefully she will connect with you in the near future.

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