BabyBee
House Bee
- Joined
- May 26, 2010
- Messages
- 128
- Reaction score
- 0
- Location
- Fife, Scotland
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 2
Here's the story (i warn you it's a long one, but better too much than not enough i think):
my neighbour and I are both new-ish beeks (got our colonies last summer) & both have/had single colonies till last week.
neighbour's hive was full to bursting, so last week (monday) he split his hive (AS?) - 5 frames in each of the new and the old.
all seemed well and plan to revisit old colony next monday.
ah-ha, things are never that straightforward in the world that is beekeeping it appears.
he pops round this afternoon to tell me he has "an awful lot of bees flying around".......we investigated and found a swarm cluster underneath colony original. turns out another neighbour appears to have seen something last Tuesday (day after inspection) but never got round to mentioning it!.
rubbish day today up here but couldnt leave them even longer, so armed with Mr Hooper's book we set off the blind leading the blind.....but did our best.
we got a sheet and put it as best we could under the hive, got a cardboard box, propped it up and then stood over with a brolly to try and keep the worst of the rain off them while neighbour swept them onto the sheet (really hard to get into corner and also working without being able to see was not easy).
anyways after a bit some of them went into said box and stayed there - leading us to assume some Q or other was in there.
left it as long as we dared, (weather was getting worse by the minute of course - howling wind and torrential rain now!), then made a ramp up to hastily assembled hive 3, placed sheet on ramp and shook bees from box onto sheet. smoked and brushed them up ramp - didnt see Q but couple of clusers of bees fanning with their wings we think - assuming this was where she maybe was.
if it was the original Q, she is marked but we certainlt didnt see her - and the cluster/swarm was very small in comparison to the only other swarm i have seen first hand - presumably cos the colony was split the day before they appeared to swarm?
most of them went up and in - eventually.
we put a makeshift crown board (5pm, shops shut and only spare crown board used on the split from last week) on, 1:1 syrup and left them in peace.
what else can we do?
when should we do it?
presumably there are now 3 weak-ish colonies - should he try and unite? if so, how and when?
not possible to check hive 1 (original) as the weather by this point was atrocious.
many thanks and apologies for lengthy post but i often see replies that state there isnt enough information for guidance so thought i'd try and tell you everything as best i could!!!!
thank g for this forum...oh and mr hooper's book.... oh and our course last year........![Bigear :bigear: :bigear:](https://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/images/smilies/bigear.gif)
my neighbour and I are both new-ish beeks (got our colonies last summer) & both have/had single colonies till last week.
neighbour's hive was full to bursting, so last week (monday) he split his hive (AS?) - 5 frames in each of the new and the old.
all seemed well and plan to revisit old colony next monday.
ah-ha, things are never that straightforward in the world that is beekeeping it appears.
he pops round this afternoon to tell me he has "an awful lot of bees flying around".......we investigated and found a swarm cluster underneath colony original. turns out another neighbour appears to have seen something last Tuesday (day after inspection) but never got round to mentioning it!.
rubbish day today up here but couldnt leave them even longer, so armed with Mr Hooper's book we set off the blind leading the blind.....but did our best.
we got a sheet and put it as best we could under the hive, got a cardboard box, propped it up and then stood over with a brolly to try and keep the worst of the rain off them while neighbour swept them onto the sheet (really hard to get into corner and also working without being able to see was not easy).
anyways after a bit some of them went into said box and stayed there - leading us to assume some Q or other was in there.
left it as long as we dared, (weather was getting worse by the minute of course - howling wind and torrential rain now!), then made a ramp up to hastily assembled hive 3, placed sheet on ramp and shook bees from box onto sheet. smoked and brushed them up ramp - didnt see Q but couple of clusers of bees fanning with their wings we think - assuming this was where she maybe was.
if it was the original Q, she is marked but we certainlt didnt see her - and the cluster/swarm was very small in comparison to the only other swarm i have seen first hand - presumably cos the colony was split the day before they appeared to swarm?
most of them went up and in - eventually.
we put a makeshift crown board (5pm, shops shut and only spare crown board used on the split from last week) on, 1:1 syrup and left them in peace.
what else can we do?
when should we do it?
presumably there are now 3 weak-ish colonies - should he try and unite? if so, how and when?
not possible to check hive 1 (original) as the weather by this point was atrocious.
many thanks and apologies for lengthy post but i often see replies that state there isnt enough information for guidance so thought i'd try and tell you everything as best i could!!!!
thank g for this forum...oh and mr hooper's book.... oh and our course last year........
![Bigear :bigear: :bigear:](https://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/images/smilies/bigear.gif)