Has anyone tried this?

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sharonh

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I am currently reading another beekeeping book, that I bought a while ago, but never got a chance to read until recent days.
A very interesting book with alot of information.
There was just one thing that puzzled me, the taranov board.
Other books, said that you shake the bees out onto the board, and that the queen and bees going to swarm will cluster under it.
This book says, the technique relies on the queen having been clipped & unable to fly. On emerging during swarming she will fall to the bottom of the slope, and move away from the light to seek shelter under the board.
Bees then cluster around her and the queen and cluster can be removed and hived.
Has anyone tried this, and more importantly did it work?
I realise this could only work with a clipped queen but never heard of anyone using this method.
Sharon
 
I read about this method in an old copy of Bee World in the 1970s but don't recall it saying the Q has to be clipped.
 
Never used the method, but would like to give it a try one day, it is a form of AS I think, where the bees are shook out from the combs onto the board, all the bees walk back up to the hive, except for the queen and young bees which 'seek shelter' under the board. The rest of the bees are able to bridge the gap and return to the hive.
 
If you have queen cells and have to shake the bees off, then doesn't that damage the queens growing inside?
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Yes it might but obviously you gently brush the bees off the comb with the chosen Q cell. Also the queen doesn't need to be clipped as she rarely flies across the gap. The Taranov AS is one of those techniques people demonstrate to others at an apiary meeting. Unlike a Pagden AS, the Taranov AS is more like a real swarm in that the age structure consists of mainly the younger bees.
 
If you have queen cells and have to shake the bees off, then doesn't that damage the queens growing inside?
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Yes it might but obviously you gently brush the bees off the comb with the chosen Q cell. Also the queen doesn't need to be clipped as she rarely flies across the gap. The Taranov AS is one of those techniques people demonstrate to others at an apiary meeting. Unlike a Pagden AS, the Taranov AS is more like a real swarm in that the age structure consists of mainly the younger bees.

However rare that she flies across the gap it must still be best if she is clipped beforehand. I have used the Taronov I made once but found it rather messy and by heck did it aggravate the bees. I didn't get stung as I dress in double everything bar the wellies but expect stings otherwise. Have seen demos at apiary meetings - great fun when done by a real expert but feel there are easier alternatives, making this method a pure frustration/desperation breaker only.
 
the taranov board. ...
Has anyone tried this, and more importantly did it work?

Yes, and yes.

I did it with one colony to see if it worked., the queen wasn't clipped, it was much easier than I expected.

There is information on Dave Cushman's site, and if you google "Taranov Split" you will find a few beekeeping blogs with photos, descriptions and so on.
 
Sounds like fun, how advanced do the queen cells have to be for best results.
 
queen doesn't need to be clipped - you catch her and place in a cage which you pin under the lip of the board.

If you can find her which is a good half of the point of using this method for doing just that!!!!
 
Yes guys I know the taranov method with shaking the bees, but this book was saying that when the bees decide to swarm, the clipped queen leaves the hive, upon emerging she drops down the slope ( taranov board )
She goes for shelter under the board and the bees that were going to swarm with her join her. They cluster with her and then you can re hive them.
Has anyone tried leaving a taranov board outside their hive, and did it work.
Sharon
 
Yes guys I know the taranov method with shaking the bees, but this book was saying that when the bees decide to swarm, the clipped queen leaves the hive, upon emerging she drops down the slope ( taranov board )
She goes for shelter under the board and the bees that were going to swarm with her join her. They cluster with her and then you can re hive them.
That's how I understood you first post - The tar.board left permanently over the season in front of a hive to act as a swarm catcher!
Has anyone tried leaving a taranov board outside their hive, and did it work.
Sharon
The author of that book must have amputated the wings of the queen completely, if he ever had success with that method.

A wing clipped around 30% on one side still enables the queen to fly, not far enough to follow the swarm, but far enough to land outside the reach of the tar.board...

Who wrote that book?

Regards
Reiner
 
That's how I understood you first post - The tar.board left permanently over the season in front of a hive to act as a swarm catcher!

The author of that book must have amputated the wings of the queen completely, if he ever had success with that method.

A wing clipped around 30% on one side still enables the queen to fly, not far enough to follow the swarm, but far enough to land outside the reach of the tar.board...

Who wrote that book?

Regards
Reiner

Hi Reiner,
David Aston - Keeping healthy honey bees.
A very good book, but I always thought this method was for shaking out the bees onto the board.
He does say , rather than try to return them to the colony, it is best to carry out artificial swarm technique.
It's under swarm management using Taranov board page 139. Someone else may have the book.
Sharon
 
See cushmans web page (what would we do without his web pages?) and you tube. My beekeeper has put an order into her engineering dept for one :) so I had to research this
 
Last edited:
See cushmans web page (what would we do without his web pages?) and you tube. My beekeeper has put an order into her engineering dept for one :) so I had to research this

Thanks derekm,
Have read David cushmans methods and all about taranov method.
I know what they say to do and how to make the board.
What I can't understand, is what this book says.
Have explained above in the post to Reiner.
It says nothing about brushing off or shaken out the bees.
It says when the clipped queen on emerging during swarming, she will drop down the slope, seek shelter and go under the taranov board where the bees that were going with her, will join her.
Haven't heard of this before, or on the net.
I thought when reading it, if that was the case, everyone with a clipped queen would do this, not to lose her through swarming, if you did happen to miss a queen cell in the hive.
If does say, that you have to keep vegetation clear where the board is.
Also you have to carry out artificial swarm on the colony left in the hive.
I would make one, if I thought it worked like that.
Sharon
 
Q. It says nothing about brushing off or shaking out the bees.
A. So what? There is no choice.
Q. It says when the clipped queen on emerging during swarming, she will drop down the slope, seek shelter and go under the taranov board where the bees that were going with her, will join her.
A. She can't fly and prefers the dark. The bees that go with her under the board are the ones that can't or don't want to fly. The flyers go back to where they came from in the first place which is also where there will (or usually is) capped QCs - which is what induces them to swarm.
Q. Also you have to carry out artificial swarm on the colony left in the hive.
I would make one, if I thought it worked like that.
A. there is no necessity to do so unless there is some good reason for so doing ie comb change, etc.
Q. Everyone with a clipped queen would do this, not to lose her through swarming, if you did happen to miss a queen cell in the hive.
A. The Q is usually past her best and the bees would not have swarmed if there was no QC ready to assume the mantle. In fact there could be more than one QC in which case, per normal, reduce to the two best and let the bees do what comes naturally. If there are more than two one can cut out some of the spares and use in a nuc to multiply, shaking in enough nurses(non flyers) along with frames of stores and BIAS as well as feeding with the entrance stuffed with grass for as long as it takes them to chew it away.

Hope this clarifies matters but am not in favour of the taranov personally as there are, as always, umpteen ways of achieving the end result with less aggravation to the bees. Others will be along with otherv views of course. Take your pick.
 

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