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Do try this method again though if you have the need. I've now done it on 6 of my 12 colonies. In the 5 colonies that I've taken through stage 2 and therefore checked inside, all have broken down every queen 'swarm' cell. Tomorrow I will be going back to the very first one I did and checking the...

That should have done it then.....! It all seems to have worked out ok though,....... if not exactly as to plan. Hopefully it's enough for the swarming impulse to have been curbed for now. Plus you've actually saved yourself a couple of weeks wait by not having to wait for another round of...

I wonder why they didn't tear down all of the queen cells as they were supposed to? Did your girls not read the WBKA booklet EricA! How far away was the parent hive moved? Do you think it might have inadvertently maintained a proportion of the foragers and they were therefore still intent on...

I've done this queen moving twice now, two more to go at the weekend. The first time, I did cage the queen with a small plug of fondant. All was well. Today, the bees were quite calm so after I broke the emergency queen cells down in the bottom swarm hive, I just popped her on the top bars and...

Yes, agreed, I have to do part two on another one of mine today. Brrrr! My main worry has been the rapid depletion of stores. I'd prefer to see more pollen as well as nectar coming in for the original colony (limited foragers) who have wolfed down their stores but will still need to build some...

You might have a wax moth larvae in there. Tap on the side of the frame and sometimes they pop their heads out! Then into the smoker with him!

Interesting question. I have only been keeping bees for 3 full years so I comment with limited experience. I have 4 of mine going through AS at the moment, as described by Wally Shaw in the new WBKA booklet. So far so good. A fifth hive owned by a friend keeping his in the same location as...

Serviceberry? I never heard it called that. Like it though. Services nature, nectar in spring for our bees and berries for the birds in autumn. :)

Amelanchier lamarckii .... I think

Got in a last round of inspections before the weather turns......... No more swarm preps seen at the moment. Plenty of time though....

Well, I just had 500 arrive, so here's hoping for a good season now! Thanks Ely for the tip. I had cause to speak to the company a couple of times about my order (pesky customer that I am) and I have to say, they couldn't have been more helpful. Great customer service!

Yep, me too, 2 swarms from elsewhere arrived here into my bait hives last year. My own marked queens were all present and correct. I'd never even seen a swarm before I took up beekeeping. Although I will confess that I did have one hung up in the tree that was mine though! Easily spotted from...

With little brood to feed the foragers have filled most of 2 supers with store and are capping off the first. So all good in that respect. BUT they have not made much progress on the foundation in the brood box. I had no drawn comb to add. They had pulled out one side of each frame next to the...

Found another colony making swarm preparations! That's 3 out of 12 now. The AS part of the first colony that I artificially swarmed 9 days ago has been piling in the stores. One super is full and being capped, the second is probably 3/4 full. It's definitely in full swing here now.

Ok Erica, an update for you. Remember the first part of my 'Snelgrove modified II' artificial swarm was on the 13th April. For nothing other than peace of mind, I checked through the original hive today and the queen is still present and laying, all queen cells seen on the 13th have been torn...

Definitely no sneaky hidden queen cell on the frame left with the artificial swarm?

Charged queen cells in one strong hive here in Berks today. Nine frames of brood and 2 supers. Perhaps I should have Demareed but have no spare drawn comb left and seemed a bit early. I've followed Wally Shaws instructions for the modified Snelgrove II method of swarm control as opposed to...

Busy day. Went through 7 of the hives today. All thriving with between 5 and 8 frames of brood. Added a super to the strongest ones. Swapped some store frames for foundation in those hives with excess stores. Frozen the store frames for later use. Drones in all hives and seen flying from two...

:bump: Just checked as I wanted to print it off and yes, it is up on the WBKA site as a PDF.

I know that feeling, I've just helped a non gardening friend dig and plant up a new bed. It's even better when it's somebody else's credit card paying for the plants! My top picks would be phlox (fave is Bright Eyes), penstemon, lupins, oh and I love Perovskia or Russian Sage (sp?) for the end...