Clipped queen swarm

[Ceph]

Think i need to learn my snelgrove tricks and get that started at the weekend as my main hive is bursting at the seams.

The questions are though if my hive with clipped queen swarm and she falls making them return to the hive...

1) How long have I got before they swarm again?

2) If this happens before I progress snelgrove tactics what do I do then?

Cheers

 

[Finman]

.
The hive swarms again when first virgin emerges.
A big problem is that you loose a laying queen. So you loose much workers of main yield if your queen is away 2-3 weeks.

Clipping of wing gives some days time to cut swarming. You need to do same figures for swarming as with non clipped queen.

 

[Midland Beek]

Do not believe anyone who tells you that a clipped queen somehow 'falls' and then the swarm 'returns to the hive'. More usually the injued queen ends up in some wet grass along with the bees and they have a miserable death in the rain.

The idea is to create an artificial swarm around your egg laying queen so that she is not lost. But before that you need to keep your bees off the swarming track.

 

[nottingham]

Do not believe anyone who tells you that a clipped queen somehow 'falls' and then the swarm 'returns to the hive'. More usually the injued queen ends up in some wet grass along with the bees and they have a miserable death in the rain.

The idea is to create an artificial swarm around your egg laying queen so that she is not lost. But before that you need to keep your bees off the swarming track.

I was told that a queen has no way of knowing she has had her wings clipped and just falls out the hive. As there is little "swarming" as the bees won't leave the queen, anyone who would of phoned you to let you know the bees have swarmed might not of noticed.

 

[Poly Hive]

I for one would forget Snelgrove for a start.

How many commercial men use it? None that I know of.

So what are you to do and when.

First and foremost is to ensure the queen has enough room to lay.

Achieved by using as many brood boxes as she requires and moving frames to ensure she has the room to work.

Backed up by supplying enough room for the nectar to be stored (supering) as it is converted into honey, a RATIO please note of 3:1

Your first indication of swarming intent if the above fails which it well might depending on strain and propensity, is a grub in a queen cup.

On finding that do an A/S and you are sorted.

PH