Gutted my hive swarmed

[VEG]

Gutted as one of my hives a carniolan queen has swarmed. Last checked them 9 days ago due to work getting in the way. I knew something was up as soon as I saw the hive. There were 6 swarm cells all sealed queen and about half the bees gone. I removed all but one cell then closed them up. I will now have to keep a very close eye on the other hive of carniolans. No signs of any queen cells or cups in the second hive but the first didnt have any in it the last time I looked either. A damn shame as they were on their third super as well.

 

[jon]

Bad luck veg. I am finding swarm cells all over the place at the moment, even in colonies I artificially swarmed in May.

 

[northernsoul]

Yes, I've had a bad year with Swarmolians including two casts (also lost)

 

[BKF Admin]

It happened to me last year,I still remember that feeling of opening the crownboard and seeing so few bees..
Bad luck Veg.

 

[VEG]

I am going to have to watch the other carni closely. If they start cells I have a couple of nuc boxes in my car (just put them in)

 

[Hivemaker.]

Been quite a swarmy time lately,just starting to slow up a bit now as the nectar flows,not lost any swarms yet this season as the bee's allways return,lost quite a few queens though,but no problem replacing them,if they want to swarm they are better dead.

 

[jon]

I have been taking the queens out of the colonies I swarmed in May as I don't want to split them now and miss the main nectar flow.
I checked one the other day and found a row of queen cells on the point of being sealed over and it was only 7 days from the previous inspection.
It is a very reassuring feeling to know that an actively foraging colony just has unhatched, preferably unsealed, queen cells in it. What I am trying to do at the moment is remove queens, wait a week, then cut out or reuse any cells present before uniting with a queenright nuc which has a 2009 queen. Hopefully this will reduce the inclination to swarm.
You can keep the old queens in nucs or recombine later, whatever suits your needs.
Last saturday I removed a queen from a colony which had started to make queen cells. I left it with a single frame of brood which had eggs on the outside of a patch of brood in the centre of a frame. When I checked it yesterday there were 30 emergency cells in a circle around the patch of brood. I didn't have my camera with me but it would have made a great photo. I cut them all out and gave it a single queen cell due to hatch in a couple of days from a better colony.

 

[jon]

,not lost any swarms yet this season as the bee's allways return,

Same here, apart from a nuc which absconded. I don't clip so I still have last years queens. It's more risky though.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yes i still have lots of last years queens,and some older,because they have not swarmed,thats the one's to graft larvae from,and hope they turn out the same.As for carni's,i think they only have one use,that is to produce bee's for making up nuc's,with non carni queens.

 

[VEG]

I am looking into queen clipping at the moment dont really like the idea but at least you dont tend to loose bees.

 

[hedgerow pete]

carnis are wonderfull are they not, thing is my lot are on a monster flow at the moment so why would they consider swarming, does any queens read the bee swarming books

 

[VEG]

Pete both my carni hives are on a big flow as well one swarmed the other not. They had plenty of room in the hive with 3 supers on. As you said they dont read the books, but I suppose I have learnt a lesson. They HAVE to be checked at least every 6/7 days regardless of weather and other commitments.