Keeping A Small Swarm Alive

[Essex Bees]

Rather bizarrely, over the past 2 weeks I've gone and collected 3 swarms.

2 are ok...ish, but the 3rd is very small, but, bless her cotton socks, the queen is laying as much as she can despite there only being about 100 or so bees with her.

I know survival likelihood is low, but any ideas as to how I can give them the best shot of surviving over winter?

They are in a poly nuc at the moment with honey to feed from as opposed to sugar solution and I'm currently thinking of keeping them in a heated greenhouse or garden shed (with access to the outside, obviously).

Any (constructive) thoughts???

Dan

 

[itma]

I think most folk would be thinking of combining to likely only one colony.

Not so sure about the idea of feeding honey (as such). Invert syrup would be more orthodox and hygienic, wouldn't it?
However, pinching a frame of stores (with a little capped brood?) from a very well-supplied and known-healthy colony or two, might be the way forward.
Certainly, minimise the amount of comb to be drawn to minimise unnecessary energy/fuel expenditure.
Not sure if a hundred or so bees is enough bee-power to warm and raise much brood though, and your game surely has to be to build numbers FAST.

 

[rae]

Pinch a frame of brood from your biggest colony, no bees, just capped brood, hopefully brood that is about to emerge. Don't give them a massive frame, they won't be able to keep it warm. This will give them a big boost in a few days. Once there are 600 bees in there, you could give them another one, but it is getting a bit late.

 

[drstitson]

would it not be best to make up a full mating nuc to accept the queen and over winter in that?

 

[oliver90owner]

A queen with about a hundred bees? Laying soon after?

Does this mean she is a superceded queen that has left with a very few bees?

Two thoughts here. 1) She is a failing queen (for a decent sized colony). 2) she is good queen but booted out because she was superceded wrongly (lack of pheromone?).

Either way a risk. Not viable in any way, shape or form as they are now. Only relatiively large amounts of added emerging brood will give this colony any chance of survival in the normal sense, but people do take apidea sized colonies through the winter, so if there is a real will, there will be a way....

RAB

 

[Midland Beek]

Swarms at this stage of the season can also leave through overfeeding/lack of space, so natural swarming impulse. However, a supersedure swarm is the most plausible, and especially if we are talking a small swarm.

I think the greenhouse is a bad idea. Try some insulating material from a DIY store and a bit of equalization. Donating a patch of sealed brood to a weak colony might be the difference between life and death.

 

[user 6228]

make a nuc with insulation values that match winter the heat output of the number of bees. This is a combination of nuc size and material. PM me if you wan details.

 

[Nic Rhodes]

I would try and overwinter in a 'dual' layer mating nuc, designed for low numbers of bees with a good chance of over wintering but to preserve the Queen. Suppliement with a cupful or two of bees from elsewhere and feed hard. You may at least get the Queen though the winter for good use next spring. She is the valuable one.