Got a swarm.

[Wildflower 123]

The bees came today. They have lots of stores, so I didn't put syrup on.
I have the frames warm way for now. Would you recommend having them cool way. I was going to let them settle in for a few days, then check on them next weekend and turn it around if necessary.
All advice gratefully received.

 

[Wilco]

Use whichever way works easier from where you stand when you're inspecting.

 

[Boston Bees]

The bees don't care, and switching them now will just end up killing some and pi$$ing them off

 

[Wildflower 123]

The bees don't care, and switching them now will just end up killing some and pi$$ing them off

Many thanks

 

[Wildflower 123]

Use whichever way works easier from where you stand when you're inspecting.

Many thanks

 

[Wilco]

The bees don't care, and switching them now will just end up killing some and pi$$ing them off

Rotating the bb by 90 degrees?

 

[Boston Bees]

Rotating the bb by 90 degrees?

Yes

 

[Wildflower 123]

Rotating the bb by 90 degrees?

Yes that's correct

 

[Wilco]

Yes

Am I odd in being able to do this without crushing any or making them angry? Not that fussed about the whole hot/cold way debate as I'm sure the data suggests bees prefer comb at 45 degrees which isn't possible in current hives thus is moot but surely lifting the BB, rotating it and sliding back onto the base is doable in and of itself?

 

[Boston Bees]

Am I odd in being able to do this without crushing any or making them angry? Not that fussed about the whole hot/cold way debate as I'm sure the data suggests bees prefer comb at 45 degrees which isn't possible in current hives thus is moot but surely lifting the BB, rotating it and sliding back onto the base is doable in and of itself?

Do you do this with Paynes poly hives?

 

[Wilco]

Do you do this with Paynes poly hives?

I'm on wooden hives... Do Paynes have an annoying lip?

 

[Boston Bees]

I'm on wooden hives... Do Paynes have an annoying lip?

Oh yes. You can't rotate the box. It must be lowered straight down. And the box walls are 3x thicker than wood. Squashfest

 

[Wilco]

Oh yes. You can't rotate the box. It must be lowered straight down. And the box walls are 3x thicker than wood. Squashfest

Groan. Who designed that?

If it can't be rotated then the hot/cold way is irrelevant then?

 

[Boston Bees]

Groan. Who designed that?

If it can't be rotated then the hot/cold way is irrelevant then?

Sorry, it can be rotated once you have lifted it up, so it can be hot or cold way. What I mean is, having rotated it, you have to lower it directly vertically down onto the floor - no placing it at 45 degrees and gently turning it into position. Any bees that have climbed onto the sides of the floor, or under the sides of the brood box, are squashed flat. And, given that the walls are 4cm thick, that can be a lot of bees.

I ended up cutting the lugs off each corner of my Paynes boxes, which helped a bit - at least you can rotate it in situ

 

[Hebeegeebee]

"I ended up cutting the lugs off each corner of my Paynes boxes" I had forgotten about those! That was the first thing I did - before i painted mine. I can't see the point of them at all. (Sold my Paynes stuff some time ago).

 

[Gregs]

Hi team
With help from this forum my bees came through winter really well, aided by 6" Abelo poly roof
They are now on OMF with no tray and added second super recently, plus glass crown board with one hole open In the orchard where they reside it gets midday sun for about 4 hrs at the moment Not often a problem but last year we had a week or more of seriously sunny and hot weather Are they best left alone with poly roof and no ventilation or with wooden 4 " roof replaced or another system?. They just swarmed and I collected the swarm (phew!)and installed it in a TBH which has OMF Similar question - leave tray off to aid ventilation or on to give them feeling of security and protection from wind - which even today is cool.
BIG learning curve but hanging on in there
Thanks for advice
Peter

 

[Erichalfbee]

No top ventilation. Close the crownboard hole off.
Top bar I’m not familiar with.
What have you found in the hive that swarmed. How often are you inspecting?

 

[W0otz]

Hi team
With help from this forum my bees came through winter really well, aided by 6" Abelo poly roof
They are now on OMF with no tray and added second super recently, plus glass crown board with one hole open In the orchard where they reside it gets midday sun for about 4 hrs at the moment Not often a problem but last year we had a week or more of seriously sunny and hot weather Are they best left alone with poly roof and no ventilation or with wooden 4 " roof replaced or another system?. They just swarmed and I collected the swarm (phew!)and installed it in a TBH which has OMF Similar question - leave tray off to aid ventilation or on to give them feeling of security and protection from wind - which even today is cool.
BIG learning curve but hanging on in there
Thanks for advice
Peter

If they've just swarmed I'd go in and take a look - if there are multiple queen cells then they're very likely to swarm again when these start emerging. Knock down all except 1. Ideally one not yet sealed, with a juicy well-fed larva in it, as you then get a better idea of when the virgin is going to emerge. It can be helpful to mark the frame top bar above the chosen queen cell to make it easier to find/recognise.
If there are eggs and young larvae present then they'll likely raise emergency queen cells too, in which case you need to inspect in about a week's time to knock all these down, again just leaving the previously chosen queen cell.

 

[Erichalfbee]

That’s why I asked whether Greg’s had looked in. I’ve always presumed the first thing folk do when they lose a swarm is have a look inside but it seems they don’t

 

[Gregs]

Thanks for replies Sorry I should have started a new thread. Advice re ventilation noted No haven't looked in yet - all effort expended towards dealing with swarm and heavy rains showers yesterday here Will look in ASAP and deal with it as advised above. Obviously not checking often or thoroughly enough As always so much more to it than I realised from the books etc.. . I sort of thought once they had swarmed that was it!
Many thanks
Peter