Buenos dias from Spain

[chicogabb]

Hi,

Just introducing myself. My name is Alex, originally from UK and now live in Andalucia (malaga) mountains, and came across 3 swarms the other day.

So I packaged them up and have popped them into 2 hives, as I only had two.

I really have no experience whatsoever, and am learning as I go. So I did the 5 day inspection today and the hive where i put two swarms "seems" to be doing well. They have covered two frames, and are busy in and out. Didnt see a queen.

The other hive was a different story. Opened it up and they were all on one side of my langstroth in fact in a space i had not put a frame (as the wax had broken on the first day and i decided i would wait 5 days b4 putting it in) -= bad move. As they were all in this space, and had built out a bit of comb (too far) and were just all huddled together, and hanging from roof (and fell off) - also did not see a quenn, but pretty hard when thye are all in a ball. But my zero experience tells me there is something not right. I could have left the queen behind? or killed her? Does it sound like there is no queen?

Could I add all these bees to the other hive to boost the numbers?

I am busy working my way through this forum for info, but if anyone is at a loose end and fancies pointing me in the right direction, I be grateful

Regards

Alex

 

[yeogi75]

hi alex and welcome
you will find more on this site than you will read in a book
but a book can be read over and over again to allow it to sink in
good luck your started well by not having to buy your bees

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Alex

Were all the swarms in the same place ?
Before uniting any further you need to establish whether there is a queen in both/either and take it from there, wait a little while to see if there's any sign of eggs/brood (could even be an unmated queen in there)
Are there any experienced beeks or beekeeping associations near you?

 

[REDWOOD]

Welcome Alex, In at the deep end and all that, Well you have done ok so far you have bees in your hives, Can you spot eggs, have you fed them, could be cast swarms, if so unmated queens are small and hard to see, Get some help from an experienced beekeeper or ask loads of questions on the forum, pics are good to

 

[For want of a better word]

Hola !

There may be an exodus of beekeeperers to your neck of the woods if this cold winer carries on much longer

 

[whoosling]

 

[chicogabb]

Hi everyone

Thanks for the welcome.

Regarding beekeeping associations there is one about 20 miles from here. Its not on my way anywhere but Im sure I could (and probably should) make the effort to find the number.

I know a guy who sells honey on the side of the road, and could speak to him i guess.

Aside from that I got the swarms all in the same place, and they were natural swarms from existing langstroth hives. The guy who has them wasnt there and asked me if I wanted them, but it was a bit sooner than i had anticipated and wasnt really ready, and didnt do a very good job of collecting all the bees either as didnt have any vacuum device or anything. Hence the reason i am concerned about no queen

I fed them with sugar water and thyme and camomile.

The "weird" hive dont seem to be drinking it?? or not much, whereas the other one does.

I will try and get some shots of it all tomorrow, if the weather is ok. I guess i should not talk about the weather, bit of a sore point...

so a queen hunt is the way forward.

If thebeen were queenless what would they do? just bumble about not knowing what to do? I notice they are flying in and out of the hive laden with pollen or whatever (as we are in full spring now here hence the swarming i guess . (they all swarmed on same day at same time!). and they came from langstroth hives so i just dumped them inside mine, and the rest all just flew in, and i didnt even shut the door. i guess they were happy to have a home...?

i'll see if i can find a queen but itsd hard as they were not on the panels like the other "good" hive.

and any other tips more than welcome

 

[Luminos]

Hi and
Good luck with your queen hunting

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Aside from that I got the swarms all in the same place

Just thinking if they were all hanging a few feet from each other, they might have been one swarm which had split up (or such a combination - two with one split etc) it does sometimes happen.

If thebeen were queenless what would they do? just bumble about not knowing what to do?

They'd just exist and eventually dwindle - you may get a laying worker, but whatever, they would be doomed.

I notice they are flying in and out of the hive laden with pollen or whatever

That's a good sign - they collect pollen to fed brood, it's a sign they are contented and have a queen - but not a definite sign there is a queen present

so i just dumped them inside mine, and the rest all just flew in, and i didnt even shut the door. i guess they were happy to have a home...?

another good sign that a queen may be present - they were following her pheromones

and any other tips more than welcome

Yes, give up bees now before it gets a hold of you, it's an obsession that costs you a fortune (but if you're lucky you may get some [very expensive] honey)
Seriously though, give them a little time to settle, especially if a virgin needs to be mated before trying to find the queen - it's a bit of a knack queen spotting as well, so if you c\n get some help - all the better.

 

[itma]

...
I am busy working my way through this forum for info, but if anyone is at a loose end and fancies pointing me in the right direction, I be grateful

If one colony hasn't got a queen, expect it to be bad-tempered but become apathetic as the days pass.
However, if you have (worker) brood in the other hive, from them you could pinch a frame with some eggs (open brood is easier to see), and give it to the maybe-queenless colony. If needed, they could then raise themselves a new queen. OK, lots of (protein-rich) pollen food (and other stuff) would help get a better queen, but for now, any functional queen is what's important.
If they build one or more queen cells on the "test frame", then gently close them up and leave that colony alone for a month to allow the new queen to emerge, mate and hopefully start laying.
If they don't raise a new queen, one likely reason is that they have an unmated queen. For that, you just have to leave them alone. Longer term, if she fails, you can either try again or think of combining the two.

Not too sure about the camomile and thyme.
Foreign tastes?

Collecting the swarm: after the majority are in the box, leave them. If you have the queen, the others will join her. If not, they'll go and look for her.
By evening, they are hopefully gathered in the box, when you can close the entrance, and take the whole colony away.

 

[chicogabb]

hahaha - camomila and thyme - god knows, someown told me to!

and i closed up all the boxes immediately so no chance any could fly in or get out. oops. i thought they were all ready to do one.

the three swarms were within 3 metres of each other,
but then there were 3-4 big hives there too?

it sounds like its not as drastic as it sounds, ie i have a little time to keep watching. I am conscious not to disturn them more than I need to as well. Praps i could get a frame of brood then off someone? sound slike a good start?

ANd can I just say what a great forum. Very quick and informative. I hope to be a regular if the hobby takes off. Is it really that hard to get honey then? from what i can tell the guy who sells it on the road here is inundated with the stuff!

could the fact we have 300 days of sun have anything to do with it

ill come back with an update..

thankyou for all you advice and time taken

 

[psafloyd]

Where in the mountains are you, Alex?

 

[chicogabb]

As in geographically, I am at the foothills of the Sierra Tejeda mountains, and the Malaga moutains. We are only at about 350m above sea level. I live between a village called benamargos and los romanes.

Im going to open up the hive agian today and see what they're up to, and will try and get some photos and an idea of whether they have a queen...

I thought that when a swarm left a hive they took the old queen with them? Is that right?

x

 

[itma]

I thought that when a swarm left a hive they took the old queen with them? Is that right?

As so often with bees: "Yes, but ..."

A (prime) swarm is indeed headed by the old queen.
A cast (sometimes "cast swarm") is headed by a virgin queen. A cast is essentially an after-swarm, however if the beekeeper has clipped the old queen's wings so she fails to fly, then the cast would be the bees that weren't able to go in the prime swarm (about half a colony).

Getting honey has to do with the local forage, and creating a large colony and keeping it together (avoiding swarming, keeping them healthy, getting the colony through winter, etc).
A half-size colony will produce much less than half the surplus honey of a full-sized one.

 

[chicogabb]

Hi

I went down to check on the bees earlier and saw a bit of activity outside of the "good" hive. Seemed to be dragging an almost dead bee away from the hive, and kind of fighting over it? collecting something off it? By the time i started videoing, a few had flown off, but 2 remained. Is hat a drone? or a queen in the video?

Potentially it could be the second of two queen s that I dropped into the hive...?

I also did a little vid of the two hives. it was about 1pm.

sorry it is a bit boring, the video i mean! but any advice is much appreciated!

(ps if the vid deosnt work immediately, i will do in due course )

it can be viewed here

http://youtu.be/-Zrgwgr0cGw

 

[RodrigoAliod]

Hello from Spain too. In the video, what you can see is a queen, the matter is why the workers are getting her off the hive? What is happening inside the hive? We need more information, please.
Greetings and enjoy the bees.