Artificial Swarm, distance to new location..

[Gumbers]

Hi all,

I need to do artificial swarms on a couple of my larger colonies (double brood + 2 supers) & would like to locate them to a new area of the apiary as part of the process. The new spot is approx 40 yds away & the other side of some trees & bushes so not in eye sight of the original location. Would you anticipate any problem with the flyers returning to the original spot given these conditions please?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Depends on what kind of swarm prevention action you are trying to achieve.
If it's a Pagden, you are leaving the queen in an empty hive at the original location and need all the flyers to fly back there to populate the hive.
If you're just taking the queen away in a nuc and leaving the brood, nurse bees and QC's at the original location, again, it is essential that all the flying bees return to the original location as, if they stay with the queen, there is a good chance they will still swarm.
So in both these scenarios, you want the flying bees to return to the original spot. Easiest way to do this would be to conduct the A/S and leave both parts of the split a few feet away from each other, wait until the next morning and then move the nuc or queen less part of the Pagden to their new location.
Really speaking, what you have described the flyers would return home anyway, but for the sake of less than 24 hours it's good to make sure

 

[Gumbers]

Hi JBM,

Many thanks, that makes complete sense. Also, if there is a bit of brood in the bottom super (no q/x's) presumably that should go with the main colony, but any supers with only nectar could/should be left on original site..? I'm doing Pagden's by the way..

Cheers,
Neil.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi JBM,

Many thanks, that makes complete sense. Also, if there is a bit of brood in the bottom super (no q/x's) presumably that should go with the main colony, but any supers with only nectar could/should be left on original site..? I'm doing Pagden's by the way..

Cheers,
Neil.

yes