Swarm sack

01 · THE FABRIC

Tight enough to hold, open enough to breathe

It is high-density polyester, the kind used in tents: it takes the scrape of a branch and is close enough woven that not one worker slips out. But the important part is the opposite — it breathes. A swarm is three or four kilos of bees making heat; in a plastic bag it cooks in minutes, and in this one it does not.

02 · HOW YOU BRING IT DOWN

One sharp knock, then close

The bag goes right underneath the cluster, you give the branch a sharp knock and the bulk of the swarm drops in. That is where the snap closure comes in: it seals in one go, no knots, no elastics, and at arm's length, which is when you cannot be doing anything fiddly. The metal mount is threaded and tightened with a screw, so it takes practically any handle or pole with a standard thread.

03 · THE TRICK THAT FINISHES IT

Leave it on the ground and wait

The whole swarm never drops in, and it does not have to. Leave the bag on the ground, in the shade and near where the swarm was, with the bees you caught inside. If the queen is in there, the bees start fanning Nasonov pheromone and the breathable fabric lets it out: within minutes the part still flying walks in by itself. Then into the nuc or the hive.

04 · WHAT IT DOES NOT COME WITH

The handle

What is sold is the bag with its mount. The pole is not included and we do not currently stock one: any handle with a universal thread will do — a broom, a painter's extension pole, a telescopic fruit picker — which is exactly what the clamping screw is for. Capacity is a full swarm of 3 to 4 kg of bees.

05 · BEFORE YOU BUY

It comes with no pole and no handle: the mount takes a universal thread and tightens with a screw. Capacity is a full swarm, 3-4 kg.