Artificial swarm did i muck up

[TOBY-3652]

Hi everyone hope someone can give some answers yesterday did a artifical swarm the old box was moved 10 yards away and i left one queen cell this cell was unsealed it had a grub in it with royal jelly i think this is where it went wrong. I understand now that i should of left all cells for a week then destroyed all but one sealed cell... Will the cell ive left unsealed be ok ?? And will the nurse bees feed it and seal it..???

 

[mandabow]

Hi everyone hope someone can give some answers yesterday did a artifical swarm the old box was moved 10 yards away and i left one queen cell this cell was unsealed it had a grub in it with royal jelly i think this is where it went wrong. I understand now that i should of left all cells for a week then destroyed all but one sealed cell... Will the cell ive left unsealed be ok ?? And will the nurse bees feed it and seal it..???

no you haven't if you'd waited for the cell to be sealed then the queen may well have swarmed with most of your bees... however breaking down all cells but one now does leave them with all their eggs in one basket, and with the queen having been able to lay eggs from the moment before you took her away they are likely to move some of her eggs to make new queen cells as a backup plan..

just means you'll have to go back in a few days (say 4 so theres no more viable brood they can move over, but you could leave it till later if you can rememebr which queen cell you left is) and do the same again removing all the new emergency cells.

waiting a few days to do it normally allows them to tear down any failing queens and you still have pick of the bunch of swarm cells rather than relying on an emergency queen cell should they decide the one you have now left is dud and tear her down, if she's ok they will feed and seal her just fine

if they do tear her down and there are only new queen cells when you go back to look then pick a cell that is capped on day 7-8 after the queen was taken. rather than before or after.

 

[TOBY-3652]

What i will do when i as anymore colonies is artificially swarm when seeing cells with grub and royal jelly in them.. When ive moved old box and left old queen on old site in new box, i will leave all the cells for another 5 or 5 days then when there sealed destroy all but one......... I did leave a drawing pin on frame with cell on so should be able 2 find it iff they make any more as back up