Catching a Swarm
Arbeiten am Bienenstand
If the swarm is hanging within easy reach, a well-aimed knock against the branch is usually enough to get most of it into the swarm box.
If the swarm is hanging within easy reach, a well-aimed knock against the branch is usually enough to get most of it into the swarm box. The rest follows once the queen is inside; recognizable by the bees streaming in and scenting at the entrance. The box needs large-area ventilation and must stand in the shade.
In the evening, the box is closed and put in the cellar for at least two days, longer in areas with disease outbreaks. Unlike an artificial swarm, a natural swarm is not fed during this time, because it has filled its honey stomach. From the third day on, check daily; if the first dead bees are found on the floor, give sugar water at once. Hiving is done exclusively onto foundation, roughly three sheets per kilogram of bees as a guideline. A swarm is broodless and builds fresh comb, which is the best opportunity for a varroa treatment.
Legally, in Germany: under the Civil Code (Bürgerliches Gesetzbuch), a swarm becomes ownerless if the owner does not pursue it without delay. While pursuing it, the owner may enter other people's land and must compensate for any resulting damage. If the swarm moves into another occupied hive that belongs to someone else, it becomes the property of the colony already living there. The law does not name a fixed deadline in hours or days.