Hive has swarmed - Is this a reasonable action

[Eyeman]

Hi Folks
Just hoping to get some reassurance or be corrected.
One hive has clearly swarmed and sent of at least x1 cast (I saw it go).
Inside are 4 open QC, 2 sealed QC and still a good number of bees no queen was seen (Original was clipped)
What I did was put one QC with frame of bees & some extras into 3 frame nuc.
I removed the remaining cell in the hive as I thought if there is a virgin in there when this cell hatches they may swarm again.
Plan was to rear queen in nuc and reunited with original hive if found to be queenless (Test frame in about a week if not signs of laying?).

What would other have done apart from checking them a bit earlier before they go to this stage.
Thanks
Alec

 

[Poly Hive]

When you say open cell do you mean open with a grub or open as in emerged as the two are totally different?

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

When you say open cell do you mean open with a grub or open as in emerged as the two are totally different?

Poster has already stated he saw a swarm leave and the queen was clipped (so not her!). Clearly that swarm seen leaving must have been a cast, if we believe the OP (Eyeman is not exacly one of the newbeeks).
So there would unlikely be any open cells with larvae in them as bees don't keep building new queen cells beyond the initial swarm date if there is already several in the hive already (ie not interfered with by the beekeeper).

 

[Poly Hive]

Indeed but I am asking for the clarification.

PH

 

[oliver90owner]

Seemed clear enough to me. I believed what the poster has written. Been a member since'09.

 

[enrico]

To be fair he does say open and not opened and that is ambiguous in the English language !!

 

[LittleGreyRabbit]

Just hoping to get some reassurance or be corrected.... What would other have done apart from checking them a bit earlier before they go to this stage.

Yes, what you have done sounds reasonable to me. Good luck.

 

[oliver90owner]

Yep, he also says quote:One hive has clearly swarmed and sent of at least x1 cast (I saw it go).

Not the sort of thing to mix up with a prime swarm, (knowing the queen is clipped) for a beek of at least 3 years?

 

[susbees]

Yep, he also says quote:One hive has clearly swarmed and sent of at least x1 cast (I saw it go).

Not the sort of thing to mix up with a prime swarm, (knowing the queen is clipped) for a beek of at least 3 years?

What is the correct term for what is effectively a prime but is really a cast presumably a re-issue of more or less the same number of bees as went with the clipped queen and returned (without her)?

 

[Eyeman]

Sorry for all the confusion.
By open I mean't opened queen cells ie. queen has already left.
No sign of eggs or unsealed brood just the 2 sealed QC's.
I say cast just because it was definitely small and it temporarily settle on a tree next door- definitely not the usual prime swarm from a strong hive.
Was I right in assuming that there could have been a virgin around when I inspected so if I had left a sealed QC they may have swarmed again?
Thanks
Alec

 

[Hebeegeebee]

If the swarm you saw was small then it's possibly not the first - especially as you have 4 open queencells:-
If clipped queen has gone (dead) with no swarm then first real swarm was the prime one with a virgin and you have just seen the second? Maybe maybe not.
If you suspect there'e a virgin in the hive or if there isn't, open the remaining queencells, let the virgins run into the hive and put the swarm back in.

You won't get a swarm if there are no queencells and the queens will sort themselves out (so says Ted H). I did similar a couple of weeks ago with a colony I had not looked at due to poor weather - leaving 3 virgins in there.