Transporting Swarms With The Versatile Hive Butler!

The Swiss Army Knife of the bee yard, the incredibly versatile ‪@TheHiveButler‬ is a must-have for any beekeeping operation. It is particularly useful for transporting swarms back to the apiary, effectively keeping frames in place as to not harm or injure the bees during transport. Tracy and team have created a truly useful tote to serve a variety of needs for us beekeepers!
Join me as we bag a swarm using ‪@TheHiveButler‬ and safely relocate the bees to their new, permanent home.
Be sure to pick up your Hive Butler here:
hivebutler.com/
#beekeeping #honeybees #thehivebutler #bees #swarms

[@SIBEEMAN]

I recently bought the Hive Butler and it came with both vented and non-vented cover.

[@basilpunton5702]

A simple frame with a plastic sheet will overcome problem of pheromones leaking out the vents. Make life easier.

[@robertlewis3336]

I also am a bouncer and a shaker. :-) Having said that, as close as those old combs were to the swarm I bet if you raised that tote up a little, the bees would have marched onto the comb on their own from the cluster.

[@steveiboy]

Came here to say that.. some glaringly obvious mistakes for such a simple swarm.

[@beesintheweeds]

Duly noted. The end result was still the same.

[@beesintheweeds]

For sure.

[@beverlysteen]

Remember, she has thinned down for the swarm flight.

[@codygibbons1513]

Just purchased the Hive Butler because of this video. Good Job

[@beesintheweeds]

You won’t regret it! Works great!

[@drast1cone42]

Try turning the honeygate to the top after you get the queen in the box...or put a paint stick leading up to it and put a few bees at the gate.

[@TheDnurk]

I bought one a few years ago and she sold both vented and non vented covers. Would be easy enough to use the non vented cover during capture and vented one for transport

[@beesintheweeds]

Great point! I did not realize she sold a solid cover when I shot this video. I still think there is a market for a temporary insert into the ventilated area. Just my $0.02. Thanks for watching!

[@barbarapreddy616]

Oh man, catching a swarm in flip-flops. Not me! But mine never are that low to the ground. Mine always seem to go 30 feet or more straight up.

[@beesintheweeds]

Comfort over pain! 🤣🤣🤣

[@pattibuckman2473]

I bought some of the plastic queen cages. I filed off the plastic to make it close closer.

[@beesintheweeds]

Good idea!

[@BrianCooper901]

That looked like it would be an easy catch, but they had other plans! I bet one of your honey super entrance dials on top would be helpful to let the bees in.

[@beesintheweeds]

😊😊😊

[@kh7794]

I was thinking the same, a way to temp cover those vents would be handy

[@beesintheweeds]

Yes!!

[@robertlewis3336]

I understand that when the queens are ready to swarm they have been slimmed down quite a bit so they may fit through that little queen catcher

[@beesintheweeds]

That is true!

[@Steele_Wings]

Make sure there is not multiple queens when you hive them.

[@Catherine-jv9os]

I had a queen escape from a clip. She was never a good layer. Maybe squeezing out of the clip caused haer problems?

[@beesintheweeds]

I think it’s because she had slimmed down to swarm. The workers will slim a queen down before they swarm so she can fly well.

[@JayyBee5557]

Elevate up the tote

[@johnboatright6702]

Always set box on something to make Easier for the bees to find entrance and smell fermone !!

[@beesintheweeds]

Thanks for the tip.

[@stephanmeechan1994]

The queens get smaller before swarming.

[@beesintheweeds]

Yep!

[@kh7794]

That went from a 2 minute catch to a too many minutes catch

[@beesintheweeds]

True. Haha 🤷🏼‍♂️