How to Get Bees
Bees can be obtained a variety of ways, but the most common methods for obtaining and populating top bar hives and warre hives are swarms and packages. Other options include langstroth and top bar nucleus colonies and splits. Each method has benefits and drawbacks, and here we will give a brief overview of each option.
Swarms
Swarms are our preferred method of populating hives. Swarms are the natural method by which honey bees reproduce, and are thus excited to start building comb within their new home. Swarms are also local to the area, and while the opinions vary, we have had the greatest success with feral swarms from our area in Portland, Oregon. Many believe that feral colonies that are living successfully without human interaction and treatment fare better than their counterparts trucked across the country in packages.
Nucleus Colonies
Nucleus colonies are miniature hives. In the case of Langstroth nucleus colonies, they are usually 4-5 frames rather than 8-10 frames found in a normal box. Top bar hive nucleus boxes aren't standardized, but ours are 7 bars wide and can be placed directly into one of our full-size top bar hives. You can also pour your bees from the box into a Warre or Langstroth hive.
Splits
A method used by many top bar hive and some Warre hive beekeepers is called the split. In most basic terms, bars including brood, honey, and bees are taken from a full-colony and added to a new hive. The queen is either left in the old hive, or added to the new hive. The queenless hive can raise a new queen as long as there are some eggs available. Some beekeepers like to buy a queen and add her to the queenless colony, however, we don't use this method as we believe the bees are better at raising queens than humans are.
How to Catch a Swarm of Honey Bees
Once you have your hive set up, along with some basic protective equipment, you need some honey bees! The two most common sources for bees to be installed into top bar hives are swarms and packages. Here we'll discuss the benefits and the process of obtaining a swarm for your top bar hive or Warre hive.
Swarms
Swarms are generally issued out of the hive between spring and early summer, and it is at this time that you can most easily acquire them. Join a local swarm list and beekeeping club, and inform your friends and family that you are interested in catching swarms. Before long your phone may be ringing off the hook on a warm spring day when swarm season begins!
Most commonly swarms will land between 1-20 feet off the ground on a tree branch within 50-100 feet of their hive. At this point they will wait patiently as the scout bees search the area for a new home suitable for the swarm to move into. This process usually takes between 1 hour and 3 days, and it is during this waiting period where you will get "free" bees!
Once you get the call, grab a box to put the bees in, a light colored bed sheet or tarp, a bee brush and some pruning shears. If nothing else is available, cardboard file boxes that accountants use work well. Once you arrive at the location, you need to ascertain whether it's safe to gather the bees. Within arm's reach from ground level is ideal. If a ladder is required, use your best judgment to decide whether it's safe to catch the bees in the box and come back down the ladder. Be warned: The allure of free honey bees can easily cause you to test your limits in ways that you otherwise wouldn't. There are other swarms out there, and risking your life to catch a swarm isn't worth it!
First, we usually recommend wearing a suit and gloves while catching swarms, as you never know when you'll make a mistake or when the bees may become agitated, and doing so on a ladder isn't the right time to find out!
On a tree branch accessible from ground level
Once you're ready to capture the swarm, lay out the sheet below them. This will be useful later. Place the box under the swarm. If the swarm looks like it will fit nicely into the box, go ahead and give the branch a couple quick shakes. This should cause the majority of the bees to fall into the box. If the swarm is clearly too large or spread out to easily fit in the box, you may want to cut a couple of the branches off (if possible) and set them in the box prior to shaking the largest clump. This will minimize the number of bees falling on the ground.
On a tree branch accessible by ladder
On a fence, wall or anything other than a tree branch
Often the bees will decide that a fence, wall, mailbox or other structure is preferable to a tree branch. For the beekeeper, this usually makes for a more tedious swarm catch. Regardless of what they're on, it is our goal to remove them as quickly and safely as possible without continually disrupting the clump, as this will just cause them to take to the air and mock your efforts. If you have a spray bottle of water or sugar water available, this will help the process.
As with the tree branch removals, lay out the sheet below the swarm as best you can. If they are hanging from a fence or a wall, begin by misting the clump a few times with water/sugar water (if available), as this will make it harder for them to take flight. Find the largest part of the clump, set the box directly below and gently brush the clump downward into the box. Then proceed to brush the remaining bees into the box until the majority are no longer on the wall.
How to catch a swarm of bees on the ground
Once they are in the box
Once the bees have been shaken into the box, set it as close as possible to where the clump was hanging. If this is on the ground, the box should be resting on top of the sheet you laid out earlier. This will allow the returning scouts, as well as those that may have fallen during the shaking to more easily find their new home. By using the sheet it makes it easier to spot stragglers, and easier for the bees to move into the box.
Gently set the lid on the box, leaving some room at one end for the bees to come and go. If you're using an actual nucleus box or hive, you can begin setting all but one of the end bars inside so that the bees have a dark cavity to hang in.
We'll now monitor for a few minutes to see whether the bees are remaining in the box or moving back to the branch. If the queen is in the box, the stragglers on the branch will thin out as soon as they realize their queen has abandoned them. If, however, she is still on the branch, you will watch in amazement as thousands of bees begin pouring out of the box and back up to where they were originally. If this happens, don't be alarmed! Wait a few minutes until they are resting comfortably on the branch (wall, fence or other structure) and go through the process again until they stay in the box.
After some time the activity should thin out as the majority of the bees are in the box. If you are at a remote location and can't stay until after dusk, you're going to end up leaving many of the scouts and other stragglers behind. At this point you'll want to close up the box entirely so that it is ready for transport to its final destination.
Transport
If the bees are going to remain in the box for an extended period (longer than an hour) and the day is relatively warm, we usually poke many holes in the box to provide ventilation. On our nuc boxes we incorporate screened holes so the bees don't overheat/suffocate. I also tape down the bars or the roof of the box so that they don't shift during transport. Once the box is nicely sealed, we place it in the trunk or back seat and take them home to be installed in a hive.
Cardboard Box
If the bees are in a cardboard/non-permanent box, you'll need to transfer them into a hive that same day. You'll need a more permanent home available for the bees. If you don't have a permanent home available, you'll need to quickly throw one together or buy one; otherwise your swarm catch was for not.
Nucleus Box
A lot of top bar beekeepers make nucleus boxes that fit their full-size top bar hives. This is what we do as well. Our version accommodates seven bars and has an entrance. It will work as a home for a week to a couple months during the spring. This allows you to easily store extra swarms to be later installed in full-size hives, replace dead or weak colonies, or to sell or give away. Although it is designed to fit a top bar hive, it could still be used as a transportation device for Warre and Langstroth hive owners who would simply pour their bees from the box into the hive.
Packages
The second most common method of populating foundationless hives is the package. A package of bees is a shoebox size wooden container with screen on both sides containing 2-4lbs of bees (usually 3lbs) and a feeder full of sugar syrup. Bees are added to the packages by taking frames from multiple colonies and shaking the bees through a funnel until the box is adequately filled. A queen - sometimes one that has been artificially inseminated - is put in a cage and then hung in the center of the package.Packages are more common in the United States than in other parts of the world. The packages are usually created in the southern United States in areas where there is little to no winter, and then shipped via truck to bee suppliers in northern states.
Due to the methods used to fill the packages, the artificial insemination of queens, environmental impact of shipping the bees and the low success rate, we believe packages should be used only if other options are unavailable.
Buy package bees from us in Portland, Oregon!
How to Buy a Package of Bees
There are dozens of package suppliers in the United States -- most of them in states with mild winters in the south. While we prefer swarms, splits and top bar nucleus colonies over packages, we understand sometimes none of those methods are possible. Here we will discuss the basics of purchasing a package for your top bar hive or Warre hive.
While there are a lot of options, we suggest you consider the following when purchasing a package to populate your new hive:
Local
If you live in an area where there are package suppliers, seek them out first to see if they would be a suitable option. This will minimize the environmental impact of trucking them across the country, as well as provide you with bees that may be better acclimated to your area.
Hygenic
You want bees that are survivors; bees that can survive without human intervention of chemicals and treatments. In today's world of varroa mites, small hive beetles, nosema, IAPV and other problems, your bees will have the best possible chance of survival if they can take care of themselves. Bees that are genetically predisposed to groom themselves and the rest of the hive of mites will have a significant advantage over bees that aren't.
Treatment Free
Determine whether the package supplier is treatment free. While it's not likely that they are, it's a good question to ask. If they do use treatments, learn what treatments they are using and which chemicals are involved, if any. Most top bar hive and Warre hive beekeepers do not treat their hives using any chemicals. To cut off a colony cold turkey from chemicals upon which they've relied upon for years could seal their doom.
Buy Early
Packages can be hard to come by unless you order early. Most suppliers require a 50% deposit fee, and we recommend that you get your order in by January at the latest to ensure there will still be packages in stock.
If you're in the Portland, Oregon metro area, you can buy packages from us!
Buy package bees in Portland, Oregon
Further Reading
We highly recommend reading the following books to learn more about capturing swarms and baiting hives:
'Honeybee Democracy' by Dr. Thomas Seeley
'Swarm Traps and Bait Hives' by McCartney Taylor
