New nest found

[666bees]

Found a new nest of bees, the question is , is it too late to capture them and they survive the winter. it appears to be a large nest.

 

[thurrock bees]

Not really just give them a feed and treat for nosema and Varroa

 

[keithgrimes]

There's an old saying. A swarm in may is worth a load of hay. A swarm in june is worth a silver spoon. A swarm in july, let the b*****s fly. Even so, I'd give it a crack; what have you got to lose?

 

[victor meldrew]

There's an old saying. A swarm in may is worth a load of hay. A swarm in june is worth a silver spoon. A swarm in july, let the b*****s fly. Even so, I'd give it a crack; what have you got to lose?

The saying is a throw back to skep days and has no relevance to todays methods .
1, They never fed bees .
2 They killed after honey harvest
3 They only kept swarms early enough to build up to over wintering strength.
Not very nice were our predecessors'

John Wilkinson

 

[milkermel]

so what about the swarm in october that i got last year?? great hive this year!

 

[victor meldrew]

so what about the swarm in october that i got last year?? great hive this year!

Swarm in October?
Not when you're Sober!


john Wilkinson

 

[oliver90owner]

It all rather depends on what you call 'new'. It may be new to you but if a large nest it may have been founded some time ago.

Simple details like actual time in residence, the actual site details (accessibility) of the colony would all help in assessing, and giving a realistic answer to your enigma. If it happens to be a swarm you are referring to, erroneously, it may well be gone tomorrow.

If you were a non-beekeeper, I would be asking if this nest was bumble bees and not honey bees because only on Sunday I saw a TBH parked hopefully - close to a bumble bee nest - and the person was asking how to entice the bees into the TBH, as he wanted to become a beekeeper! I enlightened him. He has obvious enthusiasm but little real knowledge. I may sort him out with some bees next year if his TBH does not blow away in the windy aspect on his site.

RAB

 

[milkermel]

Swarm in October?
Not when you're Sober!


john Wilkinson

I know that I am not often sober!!! but this time i was! Had cleared up a mess of an old hive for someone - no bees, wasp robbed out and moth mangled, set it up ready to get going this year (swarms had moved in previously aparently so I was hopeing the same would happen again) that was the last week in september, 2 weeks later owner called to say she had seen a swarm move in!!!

Not massive and I kept it on 5 frames over winter but great hive this year

 

[oliver90owner]

Mel,

The olde saying, I think, probably referred to the value of the potential crop from the colony in that particular year.

Later colonies had to be over-wintered for a crop the following year, so it is still relevant, in that an early swarm will provide a harvest but a July swarm is not so likely to. Nothing to do with over-wintering; if a beekeeper could catch an early swarm, it was almost a 'free lunch' for him or her. One straw skep (zero cost?) and 3 or 4 months later a dividend! No inspections, no real effort from the beekeeper!

So in todays times in terms of monetary expenditure: a nuc in July is a potential loss of a £130, plus all the time, etc. spent on it, if it fails survive the winter. A swarm will cost nothing, so is worth that £130 that would have been risked....

Regards, RAB