You Got This: Tips for Solo Beekeepers Part 3

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By: Theresa J. Martin

Figure 1. Swarming is a biological imperative because it is how a colony propagates the species. In personal discussions with Dr. Larry Connor, he described swarming as “God’s gift to all of nature.” Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 2. Every swarm catch is unique, presenting an original puzzle of angles, force, gravity, and distance. This swarm clustered in a small tree on the edge of the forest. I hinged the 6-inch diameter trunk with a hand saw, not cutting all the way through. The tree fell gracefully, landing the swarm gently in the middle of my carefully laid out sheet. I took a picture of this momentous occasion, as rarely does it go this perfectly. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 3. A pole bucket and pole saw extend the beekeeper’s reach by about 12 feet. As a solo beekeeper, these tools keep my feet planted safely on the ground. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 4. This bate hive is about 15 feet up in a tree and catches at least one swarm every Spring. It is suspended from a pulley that makes hoisting it up and down both easy and safe. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 5. The entrance is 2 square inches with a pivoted door, which can be closed from the ground using a long stick. To tie the pully to the limb, I did have to climb a ladder. For the eight years since attaching the pully to the limb, physics allows me to raise and lower the bait hive from the ground. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 6. The electric company called me to remove bees from a tree that fell in a storm. The red arrow points to the entrance. The yellow arrows point to my chainsaw cuts as I worked to locate the top and bottom of the cavity. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 7. Bees made a home inside the wall of an abandoned house scheduled for demolition. Cut outs can be stressful, for the bees and the beekeeper, requiring additional safety precautions when working alone. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 8. Four times, I have removed bees from this roof that covers a gas intake line. As a thank you for allowing me to take the bees, I give the homeowner honey. I remind him each year to better seal the cracks, so another swarm does not move in the following Spring. While he does need access to the gas intake line housed under the roof, I suspect he does not push the roof flush to seal the cracks because, like our beloved bees, the promise of free honey is too enticing. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Figure 9. A full-sized overwintered colony became queenless, so I combined them with a queenright swarm I caught and kept earlier that Spring for this explicit purpose. The swarm in the nuc box has a screened bottom board, so I set it on top, adding wood side pieces and painter’s tape to seal the seams. Four days later, I removed the nuc and combined the nuc box deep frames with those in the bottom deep, keeping the best 10 frames. Photo Credit: Theresa Martin

Most beekeepers work alone at some point, whether by choice or necessity. In this multi-part series, we are exploring methods that make solo beekeeping more safe, efficient, and enjoyable. In previous articles, we reviewed solo beekeeping pros and cons, plus the first five tips: safety, tools, documentation, inspection planning, and weight management. This month, we delve into swarm catching, cutouts, and combines.

Tip #6: Swarm Catching
Swarming is colony reproduction, which is the method that a honey bee colony as a superorganism uses to propagate the species. The swarm clusters within approximately 100 feet of the original hive in a bivouac — a temporary location with little shelter — where it will remain from 15 minutes to up to three days.1 While in this bivouacked stage, the beekeeper can catch the swarm, if the beekeeper can reach the swarm safely (Figure 1). Another opportunity to catch swarms is to put up bait hives, also called swarm traps. House-hunting scout bees orchestrate the search, selection, and navigation to their new home, which could be a beekeeper’s bait hive. Honeybee Democracy by Dr. Thomas Seeley describes this fascinating process in exciting detail. Seeley also provides an excellent resource that describes how best to configure a bait hive that is as close as possible to an ideal home from the perspective of house-hunting scout bees.2 In my time as a beekeeper, I have purchased bees only one time, which was my first colony. All my colonies since have been swarms or cut outs. In eight years, I have caught over 120 swarms, bivouacked or in bait hives. In my opinion, catching swarms is one of the most exciting and enjoyable beekeeping activities. As a solo beekeeper, it is mentally and physically challenging to determine the best method for collecting each swarm as gently as possible (Figure 2). There are many methods to encourage swarms to bivouac in a low location for easier retrieval.3 Even so, invariably some swarms will settle higher up. All beekeepers should remember that no swarm is worth risking injury by climbing ladders or using unsafe practices. During swarm season, many beekeepers keep swarm retrieval supplies handy, such as a pole bucket, loppers, sheet, and box in which to hive the swarm. As a solo beekeeper, I use a battery powered pole saw to cut smaller branches that are higher up (Figure 3). When the terrain allows, standing in the bed of a pickup truck provides extra height while providing a platform for sturdy footing. I also set out bait hives near my colony locations, hung as far away from the actual hives as the situation will allow (Figure 4). I can’t reliably lift a bait hive over my head to attach it to a nail as some recommend, and I avoid climbing ladders, especially while carrying a box full of bees. Instead of incurring these risks, I devised a pulley system. A pulley makes lifting heavy objects easier because it changes the direction of the force and uses gravity more efficiently. I did have to climb a ladder the first time to attach the pulley and rope to a sturdy limb. When a swarm moves into my bait hive, I pivot the door closed from the ground using a long stick. Then, I unwrap the rope from around the tree trunk and gently lower the bait hive to the ground. After removing the bees from the bait hive, I use the pulley and rope to hoist the empty bait hive back up, so it is ready to catch another swarm (Figure 5).

Tip #7: Cut Outs
A cut out is the removal of a honey bee colony from a structure. I have done several solo cut outs from trees that fell or were cut down, the ceiling of an old church, walls of an abandoned house, roof of a gabled shed, and walls of a barn. Solo cut outs demand extra planning and additional safety measures. Working alone with a chainsaw and power tools requires skill and experience and even then, extreme caution. I wear chainsaw chaps, work gloves, eye protection, and ear protection. Paying attention to physical and mental fatigue is essential, because cut outs often take many hours to complete and can be stressful. In addition, leaving detailed location information with loved ones and pre-arranging check-in times is wise (Figure 6, 7, and 8).

Tip #8: Combines
I have never purchased a queen, instead allowing my bees to rear their own queens. When I have a queenless colony, I restore them to queenright status in one of two ways. The first is by pulling a frame of eggs and young larvae from one of my colonies that control Varroa best and donating it to the queenless colony so it can rear a new queen. The second way is by doing a combine with a small queenright swarm I keep for the explicit purpose of resolving future queenless situations. The swarms I keep are from my colonies that control Varroa best. Resolving queenless situations with these two methods improves the genetics of my hobby beekeeping operation. When resolving queenless situations using the combine method, I place the queenright swarm on top of the queenless colony. The queenright swarm is usually in a nuc box or a single deep, thus it is easy to lift on top of the significantly taller established hive. Instead of using the often-recommended newspaper between the queenless and queenright colonies, I use 1/8” hardware cloth screen. Using screen, both colonies must have their own entrance. Three or four days after the combine, I remove the extra box, extra frames, and screen. When the smaller of the two colonies is the queenright half, this slower, controlled combine is more successful (Figure 9).

Gratifying Yet Demanding
While solo beekeeping is physically and mentally demanding, overcoming challenges is deeply gratifying, fostering resilience and self-confidence. Next month, we wrap up with locating the queen, processing honey, and finally — every solo beekeeper’s nightmare — moving hives alone.

REFRENCES:
1.Multiple sources explain that swarms cluster close by the original hive and stay there from several hours to several days. See pages 39–40 and page 146 of Seeley, T. D. (2010). Honeybee Democracy. Princeton University Press. See also pages 122–124 of Caron, D. M., Connor L. J. (2013). Honey Bee Biology and Beekeeping, Revised Edition. Wicwas Press, Kalamazoo, MI.
2.Bait Hives for Honey Bees is a Cornell extension publication that details how best to design a bait hive, also called a swarm trap, that is more likely to be selected by house hunting scout bees. Seeley, T. D., Morse, R. A., Nowogrodzki, R. (1989). Bait hives for honey bees. Cornell Cooperative Extension Information Bulletin No. 187. https:// ecommons.cornell.edu/server/api/core/bitstreams/6a183063-f398- 4552-b4ddf14a9488faed/content
3.Frank Linton offers several methods to encourage swarms to bivouac low. Linton, F. (2025). Bivouac traps: Catch swarms before they depart. American Bee Journal, 165(4), 405-407.

Theresa J. Martin is the author of Dead Bees Don’t Make Honey: 10 Tips for Healthy Productive Bees, which includes a Foreword by Dr. Thomas Seeley. Theresa has achieved 99% colony survival and honey production that is twice the local average in her eight years as a beekeeper, with 20–25 colonies in Kentucky. She can be reached at theresa@littlewolf.farm