Here is an example of how even a small colony can develop without being stuffed full of sugar syrup.
I hadn't realised it is over a month since collecting two tiny cast swarms (one was 450g and the other somewhat smaller - possibly less than half the larger), throwing them together and leaving them in a 6-frame 14 x 12 polynuc.
I installed them with a frame of capped brood with stores and a few open brood (as stores, and to try to avoid them absconding). There were some emerging brood on the frame as well.
Anyhow thought I had better have a look-see, as I had only checked quickly on one occasion, very early on, when I saw they were collecting nectar into the cells.
Nuc almost full of brood and stores. Brood over 5 frames, a couple fairly carpetted with capped brood. She appears to be into her second brood cycle (new larvae in a small patch in the middle of an ocean of capped brood).
What did I feed? Nothing, apart from that one part-frame of stores.
I have, of course seen they were busy or very busy from day two, everyday until the week of inclement weather (and they were flying when possible then), so I have had no reason to suppose they were anything other than OK (my other local bees have been checked, and they were collecting, rather than being nett users, so all the indications were favourable for the little colony.
I was just a little surprised they had developed so quickly from their small start and was almost caught out by their expansion. She must have got mated fairly sharpish!.
Re-hived in a Dartington (with another couple of frames of foundation added to draw) and am expecting them to be a good gene addition to my pool.
Yes, I do have comparative colonies handy so I didn't need to interfere with them; yes, they had some stores as a starter; yes, the weather and forage was favourable for most of the time. But they were a p-poor swarm (in size) at collection.
In hindsight they probably needed very little stores to get them going.
They can soon be returned to the original site if my pal would like a hive of bees on his patch.
RAB
I hadn't realised it is over a month since collecting two tiny cast swarms (one was 450g and the other somewhat smaller - possibly less than half the larger), throwing them together and leaving them in a 6-frame 14 x 12 polynuc.
I installed them with a frame of capped brood with stores and a few open brood (as stores, and to try to avoid them absconding). There were some emerging brood on the frame as well.
Anyhow thought I had better have a look-see, as I had only checked quickly on one occasion, very early on, when I saw they were collecting nectar into the cells.
Nuc almost full of brood and stores. Brood over 5 frames, a couple fairly carpetted with capped brood. She appears to be into her second brood cycle (new larvae in a small patch in the middle of an ocean of capped brood).
What did I feed? Nothing, apart from that one part-frame of stores.
I have, of course seen they were busy or very busy from day two, everyday until the week of inclement weather (and they were flying when possible then), so I have had no reason to suppose they were anything other than OK (my other local bees have been checked, and they were collecting, rather than being nett users, so all the indications were favourable for the little colony.
I was just a little surprised they had developed so quickly from their small start and was almost caught out by their expansion. She must have got mated fairly sharpish!.
Re-hived in a Dartington (with another couple of frames of foundation added to draw) and am expecting them to be a good gene addition to my pool.
Yes, I do have comparative colonies handy so I didn't need to interfere with them; yes, they had some stores as a starter; yes, the weather and forage was favourable for most of the time. But they were a p-poor swarm (in size) at collection.
In hindsight they probably needed very little stores to get them going.
They can soon be returned to the original site if my pal would like a hive of bees on his patch.
RAB
