help!! just had first swarm!

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milkermel

Field Bee
Joined
Oct 29, 2009
Messages
768
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20
Location
left of launceston right of bude!
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
6
Ok my hive has just swarmed in front of my eyes, I have been away for 8 days and went to do checks this morning only to find a swarm in progress, managed to collect it into a box and was leaving things to settle before putting into brood box. However box rolled a bit while i was inside maddly finishing off some frames that i should have done earlier and when i went back out swarm had gone - Well not sure really as it appears that my hive that was quite quiet is not full again!!! does this happen or has the swarm just moved on? what should be my next plan of action if queen has gone back? should i remove all queen cells?? there are a quite a few in there.

Any advice appreciated.
 
Have you looked in the place the swarm first settled or around the area you might just still get them.
 
nowhere to be seen they disappeared in a 2 min gap!! but my hive where they came from is looking full and busy? confused! should I go through that hive and see if i can spot my queen or leave that box to run the course?
 
Was the queen clipped if she was then she fell and the bees returned to the hive.
Most people do inspections during the day when all the flying bees are out of the hive so the hive often looks the same after a swarm
 
queen not clipped, and definately more in the hive than there was 15 mins earlier ( i lifted the crown board just to make sure it was my bees not someone elses.
 
Any decent swarm is going to take longer than just two minutes to return to the hive and not be apparent to an on-looker!

Obviously did not swarm in front of your eyes either. Or you would have been unmistakenly sure that they were leaving your hive!

Swarms do not usually 'move on' (to a new home) in that short space of time. Read up on normal swarm routine.

If she is in your box and there are closed queen cells, artificially swarm it. NOW!

RAB
 
And if you really want to make sure, as far as possible, that she does not leave again today, put a Q/E under her as a temporary measure.

Regards, RAB
 
i have heard of swarms that go back into the hive after a few mins i would wait and see if there is any eggs or QCs in a few days
 
i would wait and see if there is any eggs or QCs in a few days

I would most certainly not 'wait a few days'....unless I wasn't bothered if half my foraging force and queen are likely moving to pastures new, along with a large dollop of what was going to be this year's honey crop!!

Please anyone, give it some thought before making such suggestions!

RAB
 
Mike,

Do you have a local beek nearby to help you? You haven't put your location on in your profile.

O.k. So you won't be the first and last beek to have a swarm leave the hive! Main thing here is to understand what do to next. Quite right don't delay I would pop the QX between floor and BB at least if the queen is there she's can't go too far, although remember the queen is deprived of food and therefore slows the rate of laying prior to swarming so there is a chance she could slip past the QX.

You should examine the BB and check for more QC's otherwise you are going to loose casts from your colony. Was this queen marked? If so you wont need to wait to see eggs! If shes there look for the capped queen cells and perform an A/S.

If she's gone then too late i'm afraid then its damage limitation by leaving a QC to ensure a queen emerges and hopefully mates to replace your old queen.

You may have missed the prime swarm and these were casts leaving, which would explain why they dont want to stay in order to shake off the virgin queens amongst them. The only true way of knowing is to examine the colony and determine your next course of action.
 
i was able to have a quick shift through hive before I had to go back to work. There are less bees than last week, but it is a tad fuller then when i opened it this am to see if swarm was from me or somewhere else.

Could not see my marked queen but there are other qcells visable, with one that is open and i am fairly sure is a queen cell (not as well defined as the others but still elongated and from top of bar) :banghead: I just dont know!!!

called an experienced beek who got back to me earlier, mentioned in a message it may be a new queen coming out then back in? wasnt looking for unmarked queen so maybe thats it? just a bit worried in case any of the other cells hatch and i lose more!

As for location I am based just outside of Bodmin in Cornwall. Open to help!! Itching to go back in to hive tomorrow when weather bit cooler in morning and look real hard for an unmarked queen. Then will need to buy a pen!
ps gandalf not mike!! girlie MEL!:eek:
 
You may have missed the prime swarm and these were casts leaving

If that is the case there would have been queen cells there a week ago. A cast swarm goes when the queen cells start emerging, a prime swarm normally goes when the first queen cell is capped - depends on the weather perhaps.

Regards, RAB
 
Do you always like to bold everything that anyone comments on this forum for gods sake man you are not the beekeeping guru!!!! Do you actually have bees as you spend all your time typing stop criticising every post!!!
 
Do you always like to bold everything that anyone comments on this forum for gods sake man you are not the beekeeping guru!!!! Do you actually have bees as you spend all your time typing stop criticising every post!!!

I think, rather than analyse your rant, I will just simply ignore it. You might just think about your post before telling new beeks something that is inappropriate or incomplete.

RAB
 
more of an observation in fact...you didn't ignore it you answered it?
 
Easy boys.

I've had the pleasure of conversing with both you chaps on various occasions and have to say that I'd rather see your contributions aimed at 'new beeks' than not.

You are both experienced bee-keepers and will no doubt disagree on a few things as and when.

Don't come to blows late on a Saturday night over a triviality......
 

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