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Congestion / lack of laying space in the brood box is ONLY one influence on swarming. It is in bees nature to swarm, their natural reproduction cycle. Personally I prefer one Brood box to going double. I haven't tried 14x12 as I have too much kit in standard deep size and don't want to buy...

I made my own boards from standard crown boards (the type with feeder/bee escape holes). I cover the holes with some cut down old queen excluder and cut a swing entrance on one side for a entrance. I have experienced no QC's being raised before, either the queen is strong and produces enough...

Just for reference, here is a hive/colony I checked today a week after a demaree. It's doing really well, 4th super added today and not one queen cell in the top box! Slightly frustrating as I was going to make a nuc from it! I didn't check the complete lower BB, just far enough to see brood...

:iagree: With the exception of the one this year I have never had any swarm leave a 5 frame polynuc once inside. Even a large prime swarm last year were quite happy for a week or two. For me it is the convenience of using a 5 Frame Poly Nuc for swarm collection that makes it a lot easier task...

In my experience around 11am

It's about the conditions inside the box. No brood and plenty of space for the Queen to fill with eggs and less congestion/crowding. All this will reduce swarming tendency. As most of the house bees are now in the top box some of the foragers will convert back to being house bees. In terms of...

I caught a prime swarm (large) from my own the other day in a PolyNuc. All seemed fine but after about an hour they started to come back out. I reckon the size / temperature (hot day / full sun) probably didn't help. I blocked the entrance and moved the polynuc into the shade a few yards away...

In my experience (just a few years using demaree) I do NOT transfer any brood to the lower box. The idea is that the Queen and flying bees feel that they have swarmed already. How many swarms arrive at a new location with brood? I had the same experience the 1st year that I tried it and since...

In your case I would knock them off onto something you can then lean on a slope to the hive entrance and insert the inspection tray after you knocked them off to discourage them just going back under the omf. Only time I have really had any amount of bees under the OMF was a Queen that missed...

Following the Wild Bees: The Craft and Science of Bee Hunting On checking my back order for the above title with WHSmith I found they have it on offer for £7.66 + delivery so I have cancelled my previous order and re-ordered saving me £4. If you take delivery to your local branch it is free...

The problem with an inspection cloth is the possible transfer of disease, for people that are concerned by this. I have never tried one personally and try to use as little smoke if any. I have used a fine spray of water instead of smoke but never anything else such as liquid smoke.

or they are short of stores. Often drone brood is the 1st to be sacrificed in times of dearth.

It comes in a resealable bag. I let it dry out after using and I reckon, if you look after it, it will last ages.

I bought this one http://tinyurl.com/h3fhh5j

You mean something like this!

:iagree: This is exactly how I produce my Nucs every year. Demaree reduces the amount of kit required and keeps a honey producing work force together, at least in my case it seems to work that way.

The QE or board with QE over the opening prevents your supers filling up with drones which then causes problems as they can't get out and also during super clearing.

And god help you if the queen gets into the super by mistake!! It has happened a couple of times to me....

Personally I don't transfer any brood to the bottom BB as the whole idea is that the bees feel they have swarmed already. But that's my personal opinion. The other thing I do is use a crownboard (under the top BB) with an entrance slot cut in the side and a piece of QE covering the feeding...