First year of bee-keeping, we have just had a swarm...

[mrsmojos]

Hello,
This is my first post so apologies if I don't know all the lingo!!
My husband and I are new to bee-keeping, we have done a bee-keeping course and there's nothing like hitting the ground running and we are ever so enthusiastic!!
We took delivery of our first nuc in March which had 3 full frames with spacers from a very experienced apiarist. After 3 weeks we moved them into their new hive, then provided frames as they kept up the activity.
We have diligently monitored the hive every 1-2 weeks, but could never find the queen - despite scrutinising the frames, however we did note queen cells. We dispatched them as advised, but unfortunately we still had a swarm this morning, which settled in the tree above the hive.
We took advice and in the time it took to source a ladder big enough to reach the swarm, maybe an hour at most because my husband had calls to deal with - working from home for obvious reasons - then suited up and got out there they had gone.
We both felt crestfallen because we were going to put them into the nuc we initally had until we could build another hive.
We have since checked the hive and found another 8 queen cells which except for one, we have dispatched because we don't know if the virgin queen has hatched or not.
Several questions (sorry) - Is this normal? Did we do something wrong or miss something? How the hell do you spot a queen in a writhing mass (we know what she looks like but can't spot her)? Are they going to swarm again before we check the hive in 6 weeks?
All advice and recommendations hugely and gratefully received.
Thank you

 

[Repwoc]

Before you destroyed the 7 queen cells, did you notice if any of them were open at the end? An emerging queen chews round the end of the cell until it opens like an open hinged lid. If the cells were all still sealed tight then the virgins would still be in them.

Didn't your highly experienced apiarist provide you with a marked queen? They are much easier to spot with a dab of brightly coloured paint on them.

Why are you going to wait 6 weeks before the next inspection? This is the height of the swarming season - I'm inspecting mine at least weekly and suspicious hives every 4 days.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

we did note queen cells. We dispatched them as advised,

That was your second mistake - who on earth advised you to do that?

and your first -

We have diligently monitored the hive every 1-2 weeks,

Once the colony was up to strength you need to be in there every seven days.
Finding the queen is not important, plenty of other ways to indicate she is there.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Oh dear
You have been given really duff advice.
You should be inspecting your colony every week
If you find queen cells you have to do an artificial swarm of some kind.
If you destroy the queen cells the bees will just make more and swarm as you have found to your cost.
Have a look here
http://www.wbka.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/There-Are-Queen-Cells-In-My-Hive-WBKA-WAG.pdf

When you have time have a browse round the welsh beeping association site which has more excellent downloads by Wally Shaw

 

[The Poot in Somerset]

That's going some - from a three frame nuc to swarming in two months?
It's also very disappointing for you.
I suggest you ask at your local association for help and advice on how to proceed from here and please try to retain your enthusiasm.
My first year ended in failure and I felt wretched about it. I found it hard to learn on the job when I felt responsible for so many little lives and mistakes were all too common.
Keep the faith, it will get better and believe me, when things go well you feel on top of the world.

 

[drex]

You did well building them up to a colony strong enough to swarm, so a pat on the back. Pity you got such poor advice. You have already been told where you went wrong and given info about best way to proceed. You still have bees and provided you stop any more swarming, will probably build them back up again. It is early, and if lucky could even get some honey in the autumn.
I have learned a lot through making mistakes

 

[enrico]

To be positive you have not destroyed all the queen cells this time. You must only leave one now. If there is a virgin queen already in there there is a small chance she may abscond with some more bees but you will then know for sure that the remaining cell, which hopefully has a queen in, will stay.
Unfortunately bees from the same hive for some reason like to initially swarm in the same place so buy a ladder!
Never worry about finding the queen. Learn to look for eggs. If there are eggs then she was there in the last three days. Never ignore queen cells that have royal jelly in them. That is the hive screaming at you to do something.
Finally read my blog, it just may help you to feel a little better and realise we all make mistakes!

https://beekeepingforum.co.uk/blog.php?u=4807

E

 

[philipm]

We are always told by some that you must find the queen which isn't really necessary as long as there are eggs and lavae in the hive she must be there somewhere. I've had hives where I could never find the queen she could have been hiding on the side or bottom of the box.It would be well worth your time reading through this blog to learn a few things it would make things so much easier.

 

[drex]

I think I am ok at queen spotting. Now in all but one of my hives they are all marked. Cannot find her in the other one for love nor money. Happy to see eggs. I will find her if and when I r.eally need to.

 

[mrsmojos]

Thank you for your replies, some very friendly and appreciated, it's clearly easy to see your mistakes when you have experience on your side - and this forum has a wealth of experience to share with novices

I have been reading a lot of the posts and blogs (Enrico yours have me in fits ), and I am finding some invaluable advice so thank you again!

We'll keep going, and I'll keep you posted.

 

[Levitt53]

Much easier to find a marked queen as people have said. But I found that once I'd found one once I had the confidence to find her if necessary and normally do fairly easily. If you do need to find her (and you don't always need to) then I take all the non brood frames out and space the others so she can't easily run around. Do it on a sunny day with the sun behind you and just take your time. It becomes easier I promise.