If you are a member of SOBA, you can request to be added to the Swarm Call List for the current year.
Be sure that you Join SOBA before submitting this request.
It is the policy of the Southern Oregon Beekeepers Association (SOBA) that any swarm sent out to the swarm call list becomes affiliated with SOBA , and members who respond to the swarm call are representing SOBA. This means the beekeeper should represent SOBA in a professional manner and with the highest ethical standards.
Remember that collecting swarms is a service to our community; priority is placed on getting to the swarm as fast as possible, not on ensuring that all swarm list members get bees.
Please review the Swarm Call Policy in the Club Documents.
Swarm Collection Steps;
- Have everything ready to go.
- Reply All to the group email to claim the swarm.
- Call the person reporting the swarm; give your name, identify yourself as a SOBA member, and let them know your time of arrival.
- Go, collect, smile.
- Make every reasonable effort to retrieve the entire colony. This means leaving the swarm retrieval box until sundown and returning to collect it once the foragers and scouts have an opportunity to return to their colony. If the beekeeper leaves the swarm box in a public area, sufficient contact information should be left at the scene to notify the public or anyone who may encounter the box.
- Wait a few days to collect the next swarm – OR – 30 minutes. Give others a chance.
- !! If you have five 5 successful catches, you must now wait 60 minutes before claiming the next swarm.
- !! If you have 10 successful catches you must now wait 90 minutes before claiming the next swarm.
- DO NOT! Reply All the results of your catch. If you need to share – email Ken directly at zombeeapiaries@gmail.com
- Please honor these steps and continue to be a SOBA member in good standing.
- Any other questions or concerns direct them to Ken – the Swarm Call List manager.
- Anyone not following these steps will be removed from the swarm list. 2020 is the year of zero tolerance.
We would appreciate it if you would consider answering the three questions at the bottom of the form.. We are gathering data on the health of the swarms caught in our area, and on the reasons that so many people on the Swarm Call List last year did not respond to the requests to get swarms. Thank You!