Catching a swarm of honeybees is one of the most exciting things you can do as a beekeeper. Even if it is a swarm from your own hive, you still have the feeling that they are free bees. A swarm of bees can be a little bit frightening. Remember when bees are swarming, they are very gentle. They do not have a hive to defend. When a swarm first leaves a hive they usually do not fly very far. They settle on a branch or some object up off the ground. They will look like a sack or bag of bees hanging down. The queen is usually somewhere in the middle. This is the time to catch them. Catch them before they have found a new home.

If the swarm has settled close to the ground then your job is an easy one.  You just need to shake the bees off of their branch into a hive box with base.  You can use a cardboard carton or case if you plan to move them any distance.   Another way of catching the bees is to cover the swarm with a mill- run or copra bag. Then shake or cut the branch.  If you do use a bag, be sure the bees have enough air.  Get them to their new home quickly or they may die.  Set up a base and box on a hive stand.  Put 2 or 3 empty frames of wax foundation on either side of the box.  Leave an empty space in the middle for the bees.   Put one frame of open brood from another hive (be sure to brush off the bees first!) into the hive.  This is very attractive to the swarm of bees and will encourage them to stay. Then shake the carton or bag of bees into the box.  Once the bees have spread out in the box, you can put in the rest of the frames and close the lid.  If you caught the queen and she is now in the hive box, the bees will stay. (Catching the queen is the key to catching a swarm. If you do not get the queen, the swarm will leave again).  A swarm can make wax very quickly.  You should give them foundation.  They will build very good comb.

If the swarm has landed high up in a tree, it may be more difficult to capture.  Cutting down the tree is not a good idea. The axe or chainsaw may make the bees fly away. The falling tree will kill many of the bees, and maybe the queen.  Climbing the tree with a copra bag to put the bees in might work. Maybe if the swarm is too high you should just wave goodbye and let it run away.