SPEAKER: (MUSIC PLAYS) So same beard and different new employee.
We got Rory here and a different circumstance.
This is a swarm, it's up in a tree fairly low,
so it's not too awkward to get at.
We have a bucket attached to a long,
long pole that we can use for weather up a bit higher.
If it's any higher than that, we just let the swarm go.
It's not worth climbing a tree and injuring yourself to catch a swarm.
But this one's not too bad.
We didn't happen to have a ladder.
So that's a live beehive underneath Rory.
And we've got it kind of propped up.
So it's not going to tip over on him.
And he's just going to use a bucket and jab it up into
the swarm or around the swarm to get it to drop off.
And so we can catch this swarm.
He's pruned a little bit around the area.
But now that he's getting close to the swarm,
you'll get the height smoked to the bees.
Just a little bit of light smoke around them.
Doesn't take a lot.
And uh, that's good.
We won't ask you to stick his hand into that swarm,
but I'm kind of itching.
So set that aside.
Now he's going to take that, you know yeah, right.
He's going to prune nice and close there trying not to jar that swarm.
I'll get the rest of that branch out of the way, Rory.
RORY: This one?
SPEAKER: No, down lower.
Yeah, just so you got a good clear path.
Now you're going to want to have the bucket and that's good, yeah.
You could prune that one.
It's poking out on this side.
RORY: This one here?
SPEAKER: No, come on right through this one.
Yeah, that one.
We're getting there.
We want to be able to surround the swarm with this bucket.
OK.
There's a lot of weight there.
So they could really easily fall off the branch.
RORY: Yeah.
SPEAKER: So we get that under there.
And now our bucket is barely big enough for you,
you are going to get some bees on you.
RORY: Already.
SPEAKER: Actually, hold the bucket and I'm going to get you
to trim off that one other one at the same time...
RORY: You think this will fall?
SPEAKER: Get it right up around the bees just in case it falls
we can put that on off you we can put that one off.
There we go.
OK, it came down a bit.
Now move that up as far as you can.
And they're not quite ready to fall yet.
RORY: I may have to get above them here.
SPEAKER: That's going to have a lot of weight on it.
RORY: Now you going to get underneath these bees here.
SPEAKER: Sure oh, you know, I'm going to...
OK, I'm ready to catch it.
RORY: Right, let me just turn this on a little bit more.
Go alright.
SPEAKER: Can you reach it there?
RORY: I think so.
SPEAKER: (UNKNOWN) OK, now what you're going to do
is just give it a sharp jab upwards.
RORY: Yeah, we got it.Well,
SPEAKER: We got it?
RORY: I think I got most of them here.
SPEAKER: Well, OK, I'll clear the path.
RORY: We have done that.
SPEAKER: I got it.
And you can prune a bit more.
Good, done fantastic.
You turn.
RORY: (LAUGHS) There you go.
Here we go.
Should we...
SPEAKER: Every swarm s different, as they say.
So it takes a little effort improvising.
But here, we got it.
That feels like about eight, maybe even 10 pounds of beef.
And we got maybe a couple of ounces of bees on here, Rory.
That's a pretty good ratio.
So he's going to walk over here and not trip, perfect.
RORY: All right.
SPEAKER: We're going to do the same thing,
we've got a new fox set up here with the frames in it,
one frame of honey and three empties.
They'll have a lot of honey in them.
You can even put foundation in here because
they're all primed to build comb,
their wax glands are all set up and going.
So we're going to give a little bit of smoke
and then just lay it down on the ground right there.
And then we'll pull the branches, out.
RORY: OK, That's it probably...
(CROSSTALK)
SPEAKER: Yeah.
If we'd caught them all just as a lump of bees,
we'd shake them sharply at the beginning of that.
Well, we got all these branches in the way.
So just pull the branches out slowly.
Nice.
Now, pull that back a bit and right back
to the beginning there, and you know,
you can give it a sharp shake without banging it down, alright.
RORY: Good, beautiful.
Perhaps most of them are there on the wax.
SPEAKER: And there is next to nothing on the tree.
They're not actually flying today.
It's too cool.
So there aren't a lot in the air,
but sometimes a lot go back to this spot
and you have to go back and catch some more.
So now just take those branch and give it
a tremble kind of shake over top there.
(BEES BUZZING) Beautiful.
OK, I'll just clear everything out of the way.
That's a nice pile of bees, isn't it?
RORY: And is that the great pile of bees?
SPEAKER: OK, now give them a smoke grate at your end.
RORY: Sure.
SPEAKER: And we'll get them running.
(BEES BUZZING) Sometimes you see the queen,
sometimes you don't., A lot of people will catch them,
right into the box and you can do that,
but then put the frames in later.
(BEES BUZZING) No, there's no real right way of doing it.
But I'm not even sure they're all going to fit in this box.
It's just that's it was a handy box.
There's a queen.
(BEES BUZZING) Now it's possible there's more than one in here.
Sometimes you have more than one call a swarm at once and they're in
the air and then they merge together and you get more than one queen.
So I did see her.
She's an unmarked queen.
So I just didn't see her well enough to tell if she's a virgin or not.
So we know they have a queen.
RORY: OK.
SPEAKER: And they will stay here now that we know they have the queen.
So I trying am just going to leave her alone because that's
all we really need to do is see that they have a queen.
RORY: Yeah.
SPEAKER: And we can just let those bees run in there.
And overcharging a lot.
You can start to see them streaming there.
And once up here are just starting to fan their wings.
RORY: Yeah.
SPEAKER: And bend their abdomen a bit to expose them as enough.
And they're just keeping an eye out hope for another queen to.
That's a drone, I believe, yep.
And the drone there see that drones have put a yellow.
(BEES BUZZING)
RORY: Oh, that's a drone there, too.
Yeah.
SPEAKER: Yeah.
But if your eyes are stopping on a drone,
at least you're seeing something different.
That's good.
(BEES BUZZING) Quite often the queen will
be running on top of the other bees.
Not today.
OK, that's it.
We did it.
Well done, Rory.