For quite some time I have wanted to start beekeeping. The majority of my winter reading material has been on bees in preparation for this spring. Shortly after we moved back to our family farm we discovered there is a hive of bees in one of the grain bins. Although I cannot get to the bees, to get them out because of where they are located I have hopes of catching a swarm from this hive.
The bees are going in above the unloading auger located at the bottom of the grain bin.
Closer view of the unloading auger
Close up of one of the bees. They aren’t very active today due to the cool, wet weather.
So I have been working on building two top bar hives. I didn’t have the proper tools to cut the bars the way I wanted to so I recruited my brother to help. He willingly agreed to help me. (Thanks, Matt!)
One of the top bars. Didn’t he do a great job?!
I got wax from a local bee keeper and melted it so that I could dip each of the top bars in it. This helps the bees know that they are supposed to build their comb here.
Chunk of wax before melting it.
Two of the top bars after being dipped in melted wax.
I didn’t get any pictures of me actually dipping the top bars because the wax got solid very quickly and I was trying to hurry.
Top bar hive with the lid off
I think the new hives look really good so far.
Hopefully when the bees swarm they will find my top bar hive appealing. 🙂
Have any of you been successful at catching swarms? If so how did you do it? Do you have other suggestions how to get the bees into my hive and out of the grain bin?
Blessings,
Jennifer
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Hey, I just came across your blog from a friend and I am a beekeeper of a few years and I have listened to several people talk about catching swarms but none from a grain bin! If you need any advice or questions give me a shout and I would be more than willing to help you out! I have a blog at http://diariesfromthedirtroad.blogspot.com and a Facebook page as well at https://www.facebook.com/DiariesFromTheDirtRoad?ref=hl I’d love for you to check them out! I recently did a post about installing a package of bees into a normal Langstroth hive. I look forward to following your blog!!
Erin
Thanks Erin!
This spring marks my first year of beekeeping. Once I get the hang of it all, I want to try a topbar hive. Thanks for sharing.
Thank you for stopping by!
I have several friends that keep bees, but none that caught them wild! How do you know the bees in your grain bin are honey bees and not some other type? Would you have to catch and relocate the queen to your hive to get the rest of them to follow?
My hope is that they will naturally swarm and if they do there will be a queen in the swarm. The next challenge is getting them to choose my box. 🙂 Let’s hope they think it looks like a great home.