Clipped Queen Swarm

[brendon.gill]

Hi, I am a new bee keeping this year and my queen (which is clipped) has swarmed but because she can't fly has landed on the floor and climbed up my hive stand and has set up camp under my hive with about half my bees!

I have ordered a NUC boc to put the swarm in but will not get to me until tomorrow - will it be OK to leave them there until then or would it be best to create some sort of temp hive until then....

I was thinking about putting them in a supper with frames for now next to existing hive and just put a plank of wood over as a roof??

Just not sure what is best?? any help really appreciated

Brendon

 

[enrico]

I personally would try and hive them in something. They are going to start building wild comb under your hive. You will be amazed how much they can make in a short time. Better to be making that in a super. May get different ideas from different people!!!
E

 

[garethbryson]

Get yourself a large empty cardboard box and put them into that and seal it but leave some ventilation and then transfer them into your new box tomorrow. if you leave them she might march off and the bees go back into the hive.

 

[brendon.gill]

Thanks, think I need to get them in something tonight and rehome them tomorrow.

 

[chickendave]

I was thinking about putting them in a supper with frames for now next to existing hive and just put a plank of wood over as a roof?

Brendon[/QUOTE]

I would also hive them do you not have a spare bb ? or another super so you can double up on the supers and use brood frames instead of super frames
Also depending on the size of the swarm the nuc box you have bought might not be large enough to house the swarm in
Plus once they have drawn the foundation on the frames they might run out of space quite quickly, so was it you intention on overwintreing them in the nuc box or is it your intention to keep the the swarm or unite them back together with the original colony
The point I am making you need more equipment
Good luck and let us know how you get on

 

[brendon.gill]

I was thinking about putting them in a supper with frames for now next to existing hive and just put a plank of wood over as a roof?

Brendon

I would also hive them do you not have a spare bb ? or another super so you can double up on the supers and use brood frames instead of super frames
Also depending on the size of the swarm the nuc box you have bought might not be large enough to house the swarm in
Plus once they have drawn the foundation on the frames they might run out of space quite quickly, so was it you intention on overwintreing them in the nuc box or is it your intention to keep the the swarm or unite them back together with the original colony
The point I am making you need more equipment
Good luck and let us know how you get on[/QUOTE]
I have had the same thought, I have 2 plans depending on how it all goes:
1/ See if new queen in old hive takes and completes mating flights succesfully and then build up NUC hive into a 2nd full hive ready for winter.
2/ If new queen does not take then reintroduce original queen and bees back into original hive

I should know in a couple of weeks I think......

With the frames I was planning on doing exactly what you said by doubling up supers but now thinking about just storing hive in a box over night and then place in NUC with frames tomorrow...

 

[Chris B]

Do you want 2 colonies or 1?

Another option is to destroy all queen cells and shake all swarm bees back into the brood box. They might give up swarming or they might carry on and lose the queen properly next time. Either way you've kept all the bees together as a single entity.

 

[brendon.gill]

Do you want 2 colonies or 1?

Another option is to destroy all queen cells and shake all swarm bees back into the brood box. They might give up swarming or they might carry on and lose the queen properly next time. Either way you've kept all the bees together as a single entity.

Well that was fun!

We doubled up supers and put in 4 broad frames then shook the swarm into the temp hive. Closed the lid until tomorrow when we will transport into nuc. We are going to try and start two hives now if we can but if one fails we will then merge them - tomorrow will tel!

 

[chickendave]

Well done
But if you plan on two hives you will need another full hive plus enough equipment to AS each colonie next year if they come through the winter OK
Which means more kit and more expense and people will still exspect a free jar of honey