Any scouts at your swarm trap?

[Erichalfbee]

I really don’t know… there is a woodland nearby .

Anyway, they arrived an hour later

Now what’s the plan?

 

[Do224]

Now what’s the plan?

Queen excluder is on. They’ll be transferred to the apiary (about 3 miles away) tomorrow night and then transferred into the hive the following morning.

I’ve got drawn frames from my dead outs so they’ll be given them. Most of the frames have some stores in. How many frames of stores should I aim to give them overall?

The day after transferring them I’m intending to give them a vape…sound ok?

Then I guess I’ll leave them to it for a while in case there’s a virgin queen…

Im very open to instruction though if any of that sounds wrong! (I know they should possibly be moved tonight ideally but not possible)

 

[Erichalfbee]

If you leave them an extra day before moving you risk losing a great number of your early foragers. Can you get up early and move them?
Don’t give them drawn comb. Just foundation.
Give them a feed Friday.
Don’t vape too early. I suggest you look Sunday to see if you have a prime. Vape then.

 

[Do224]

If you leave them an extra day before moving you risk losing a great number of your early foragers. Can you get up early and move them?
Don’t give them drawn comb. Just foundation.
Give them a feed Friday.
Don’t vape too early. I suggest you look Sunday to see if you have a prime. Vape then.

Now I’m really confused… don’t give them drawn comb? Why not? I thought drawn comb was waaaaay better to give them…

No way of moving them until tomorrow night…I thought three miles would be fine? Did the same last year and didn’t have bees returning and clustering on the swarm trap location

 

[Sutty]

Now I’m really confused… don’t give them drawn comb? Why not? I thought drawn comb was waaaaay better to give them…

No way of moving them until tomorrow night…I thought three miles would be fine? Did the same last year and didn’t have bees returning and clustering on the swarm trap location

Should be fine moving tomorrow if you can wait late enough for all the bees to be in.
Foundation because swarms are wax factories & great for creating valuable drawn combs. It won't do any harm to give them drawn combs, it just misses an opportunity!

 

[Erichalfbee]

If the swarm isn’t yours then you don’t know it’s healthy. The bees will use the stores they brought with them to draw wax. If you give them drawn comb they will put those stores, possibly contaminated, into the ready made cells.
Yes you’re right to be confused. Ignore the move them tonight bit. Not thinking straight. Blaming Covid.

 

[gwt_uk]

Really ramping up today…this was 10:30am


View attachment 31945

Very promising!

 

[Do224]

I’m guessing they’ll use most of the stores they’ve brought with them drawing wax in the bait box as they’ll have been in there 48 hours by the time they’re transferred into a hive. The bait box is full of starter strip frames.

So should be safe to give them drawn frames in the hive? I just thought this would give them a head start. I’ve no shortage of drawn frames…but many do have a percentage of stores in. Could I give them these in lieu of feeding?

With regards vaping, I thought this had to be done before day five as that would ensure no capped brood…?

 

[Erichalfbee]

The idea of feeding is to get them to draw comb.
As for vaping I don’t like to do it while they are settling in
Brood is capped on day 7/8
You suggested that you might do it on day three.

 

[Do224]

…

Got it, thanks. So best to vape as late as possible before day 8…

How much stores should I give them…or will they not need any at all?

 

[Erichalfbee]

Give them a frame full by all means. Lucky bees

 

[Mabee]

In a way, I'm relieved to see zero activity at the bait hives today. It may just be the calm before the storm, but today is a typical swarm day after a rainy day yesterday. My shaky swarm "abatement" measures on Sunday may have done the trick?

No activity at either of my bait hives and had my hive swarm yesterday. But I at least had a hive or two ready to pop them into!

 

[Just Steve]

So just watched the scouts on day 2, gone to make a brew, heard bees, and.....

 

[Moobee]

I’m guessing they’ll use most of the stores they’ve brought with them drawing wax in the bait box as they’ll have been in there 48 hours by the time they’re transferred into a hive. The bait box is full of starter strip frames.

So should be safe to give them drawn frames in the hive? I just thought this would give them a head start. I’ve no shortage of drawn frames…but many do have a percentage of stores in. Could I give them these in lieu of feeding?

With regards vaping, I thought this had to be done before day five as that would ensure no capped brood…?

Not only will they get rid of all the stores they are carrying into comb but they will also make new comb on foundation in double quick time and you can save your drawn comb for when you really need it.
I housed a swarm last Friday on foundation and they were already drawing comb and filling a super by the 3rd day.

 

[Do224]

Not only will they get rid of all the stores they are carrying into comb but they will also make new comb on foundation in double quick time and you can save your drawn comb for when you really need it.
I housed a swarm last Friday on foundation and they were already drawing comb and filling a super by the 3rd day.

they completely drew out a bb of foundation in 3 days and were already filling a super? Or have I misunderstood?

the thing is I lost all my colonies over winter so have lots of drawn comb, much of which is filled with stores

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thing is that swarm is filled to the gunwhales with young wax drawing bees full of honey and bees with fat hypopharyngeal glands ready to feed young. They need something to do

I've caught and kept swarms eve year since I started keeping bees and I have never given them drawn comb apart from the one in the lure

 

[Do224]

Thing is that swarm is filled to the gunwhales with young wax drawing bees full of honey and bees with fat hypopharyngeal glands ready to feed young. They need something to do

I've caught and kept swarms eve year since I started keeping bees and I have never given them drawn comb apart from the one in the lure

Transfer done. There was a lot of bees…bigger than any swarms I caught last year. I gave them the lure frame plus 3 starter strip frames that they had already built a lot of wax on, three frames of foundation and 4 frames of drawn comb. Hopefully that is a nice balance and gives them a bit to keep them occupied…

Will vape on day 7.

I expect they might need a super pretty imminently…

 

[Do224]

I’ve not given them any stores though. Shall I feed them or will they be ok with what they’ve got?

 

[Erichalfbee]

You said the drawn frames had stores?
What’s the forage like?

 

[Do224]

You said the drawn frames had stores?
What’s the forage like?

I used the drawn frames si had without stores in. I would have used all foundation but I only had three frames foundation…