animal information for kids Archives

How to catch a swarm – advice from an expert beekeeper, Roger Patterson

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A few weeks ago I listened into a zoom talk all about swarms by Roger Patterson. I last heard Roger speak in person almost a decade ago, back in 2012, when his talk was “Improve your bees and beekeeping – simply”. I think he’s one of the most well known beekeepers here, as he does so many talks and is very active in the beekeeping community. He has also written a book, called ‘Beekeeping – A Practical Guide’ (2012).

Roger began by saying that swarms have changed:

Pre 1990s, they used to be reliable:

– Large prime swarms had fertile

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The arrival of the bees

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A couple of months ago, I put a bait hive out in my garden. An empty National brood box, apart from a dark old brood comb pushed to one side and some lemongrass oil smeared on the walls. Then I waited.

At first… nothing. But then… I saw some bees coming in and out, inspecting the empty premises. The next day, it was clear something was afoot. More and more bees could be seen around the entrance, until the water in my garden was filled with masses of humming bees. I went and stood outside, looking at the sheer number

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The bee backyard from Could to July

by kiprana

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Our neighbor’s buddleia is prospering a lot to the delight of bees, butterflies, hoverflies and wasps, and offering a feast of bugs for the birds.

Our personal backyard has overgrown within the heatwave as preparations for a particular arrival (we do not know but whether or not we can have a queen bee or a king drone) have taken precedence this summer time.

However we’ve made some large modifications to the backyard. The fish have gone to a greater place – somebody my mom discovered was in a position to rehome our goldfish in a powerful pond simply ten instances …