Bad beekeeping. Year 2

[thedozzer]

After having the bees do the swarm control for us last year, by going in to the empty hive next door. this year to try and better beekeepers we thought we would plan ahead.

So we have ordered new queens and would split before they arrived, once the hives started showing swarm signs, use the nuc's with old Q's to supply the main hive with brood until the new Q's arrived.

We did an inspection last weekend and saw dreaded charged QC's, and from all the reading and advice on here, knew that even if we tore down the QC's they would swarm in a week or so's time!

So the this weekend we were going to do the split, Today the bees decided that they couldn't wait for us to faff about and swarmed!!!! Bugger.

luckily they only buzzed off 2 gardens away, up a cedar tree in a neighbours garden. They are cool with our bees and get free honey, so they were more than happy for us to collect them. SWMBO climbed the ladder this time, and we tide a bit of string round the branch, before we cut it and lowered it to the ground.

They are now in a Nuc, and will be used as a brood factory for the main hive, until the new Q arrives, Sorry if this is not a good idea but its the best way we could think of, making use of the old queen and the swarm while keeping the old hive going until New Q arrives.

Does it ever get any easier with experience?

 

[Fritillary]

Honestly thedozzer, I sometimes doubt I shall ever become a Good Beekeeper. But I'm certain I am becoming all the time a more experienced bad one!

 

[pargyle]

Not much .. there's always something you learn and something they do that has you stumped or in panic.

The only thing you probably need to take account of in what has happened to you is .. if you see queen cells ACT .. Artificial Swarm as soon as you see them, leave them for later at your peril. The bees don't always follow the official timetables.

One question - Did you need new queens or are you following the mantra that you should have new queens every year to prevent swarming ? .. Be warned - it doesn't always stop swarming !

 

[thedozzer]

Not much .. the only thing you probably need to take account of is .. if you see queen cells ACT .. AS as soon as you see them. The bees don't always follow the official timetables.

One question - Did you need new queens or are you following the mantra that you should have new queens every year to prevent swarming ? .. Be warned - it doesn't always stop swarming !

The Bees are lovely, but one Q is now 2.5 years old min. and the other is not quite as good as her mum.
We have spoken to quite a few people we know that have GM queens, and we wanted to try some out.
The plan was, i have a friend that has lost a hive over winter, and wanted to split, and has planed to get a few more this year, so we had said he could have the old Q's with some bees to get him going again.
the annoying thing is, that there was only play cups on the first inspection! they have got swarm fever in about 10 days.

Does OSR make them advance quickly? as there is a 150 acre field 200 mtrs away, and lot of yellow noses returning.

 

[pargyle]

The Bees are lovely, but one Q is now 2.5 years old min. and the other is not quite as good as her mum.
We have spoken to quite a few people we know that have GM queens, and we wanted to try some out.
The plan was, i have a friend that has lost a hive over winter, and wanted to split, and has planed to get a few more this year, so we had said he could have the old Q's with some bees to get him going again.
the annoying thing is, that there was only play cups on the first inspection! they have got swarm fever in about 10 days.

Does OSR make them advance quickly? as there is a 150 acre field 200 mtrs away, and lot of yellow noses returning.

All good reasons to get new queens then. Ged Marshall does have good queens.

There are so many reasons why they decide to swarm .. certainly an abundance of forage is one thing that can promote swarming and a field of rape in bloom that near ... bee heaven I would think !

 

[Erichalfbee]

We did an inspection last weekend and saw dreaded charged QC's, and from all the reading and advice on here, knew that even if we tore down the QC's they would swarm in a week or so's time!

At least you managed to catch them.
Like others have said. If you see queen cells you have very little time to do something about it.
What can and often does happen is that if you remove the queen cells the bees are quite capable of making new ones on three day old larvae which are capped two days later.
Now swarms don’t always go as soon as the first cells are sealed ( it’s not uncommon to find your queen still at home in a box of sealed swarm cells) but theoretically your bees could disappear over the fence three days after you last looked in.
It’s a thought.
This time of year I have spare everything down at the bees.

 

[E&MBees]

I used up my spare hive and nuc when my bees swarmed over Easter. Should I be thinking of getting another nuc or hive as apart from supers, I don’t have anything else?

 

[Curly green finger's]

I used up my spare hive and nuc when my bees swarmed over Easter. Should I be thinking of getting another nuc or hive as apart from supers, I don’t have anything else?

I would you never know what might happen you missed a qc and you get a cast.
Im in need of more hive boxes I've plenty of nucs!

Your always short of something.

 

[pargyle]

Your always short of something.

And when you have it you can't find it... I managed to lose a new Poly roof I had in store as a spare last week. Where was it when I found it ? Exactly where I'd previously looked ... bloody gremlins !

 

[Curly green finger's]

And when you have it you can't find it... I managed to lose a new Poly roof I had in store as a spare last week. Where was it when I found it ? Exactly where I'd previously looked ... bloody gremlins !

Gremlins of the Mind, there a pain in the ass.
Can I ask your advice save me putting a thread up.
I've only one brood/half colony left, I've done a box reversal which has made the colony expand to 7 over 7 of solid brood. a super was added last week but there very reluctant to go up there..
Yesterday 5/6 play cups in the brood box none charged queen looks fat, still don't want to go in the super, the super is mixed foundation and drawn.
Im thinking I need to split the hive?
What do you think?
Apologies to the op.

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[Erichalfbee]

And when you have it you can't find it... I managed to lose a new Poly roof I had in store as a spare last week. Where was it when I found it ? Exactly where I'd previously looked ... bloody gremlins !

I searched everywhere for a new standard brood box I knew I had! I had a nuc open to start a Bailey change. They were far too big to do that and needed putting in a bigger hive. I don’t keep standard broods but this colony has been promised to somebody else on new frames.
I searched and searched and eventually found it ....... inside a WBC on the drive where I had surreptitiously set it up as a bait hive.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Yesterday 5/6 play cups in the brood box

Play cups aren't queen cells - bees make them all the time, the larger the brood area, the less pheromone the bees have to share around so they just keep practicing just in case the queen fails. It's not necessarily a sign of swarm preparations

 

[Curly green finger's]

Play cups aren't queen cells - bees make them all the time, the larger the brood area, the less pheromone the bees have to share around so they just keep practicing just in case the queen fails. It's not a sign of swarm preparations

I understand that emyr, what would be your advice then?

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[enrico]

Curly....they will go up.....

 

[Curly green finger's]

Curly....they will go up.....

There has to be one colony doesn't there I've 5 with supers on.
All the others are fine.

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[Murox]

Gremlins of the Mind, there a pain in the ass.
Can I ask your advice save me putting a thread up.
I've only one brood/half colony left, I've done a box reversal which has made the colony expand to 7 over 7 of solid brood. a super was added last week but there very reluctant to go up there..
Yesterday 5/6 play cups in the brood box none charged queen looks fat, still don't want to go in the super, the super is mixed foundation and drawn.
Im thinking I need to split the hive?
What do you think?
Apologies to the op.

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you could always stick a couple of the shallow brood frames into the the super? nurse bees will migrate.

 

[Swarm]

What queen excluder are you using? I've seen bees struggling to get through the framed plastic ones from thornes.

 

[Curly green finger's]

What queen excluder are you using? I've seen bees struggling to get through the framed plastic ones from thornes.

I'm using the white plastic one which has a bee space.
I've got them on other colonys and they're OK.
I was thinking the same Steve. ill change it in a minute??. I didn't really want to go back in for shallow frames murox being as I went through them yesterday.

I've got the thin metal qxs or the wooden framed ones with bars To use?
Being as I'm bottom bee space there's not much point having a qx with one?

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[Murox]

A super over the excluder that has fresh nectar needing to be matured in it, may entice the bees to move through – nick a couple of frames from another hive sans bees if needs be.

 

[Swarm]

That's the ones.
I saw them at my friend's apiary, two the bees were getting through okay but there were three others and once he changed them they were straight up.