Karsal
Field Bee
- Joined
- Jul 16, 2013
- Messages
- 545
- Reaction score
- 28
- Location
- Lancashire
- Hive Type
- National
- Number of Hives
- 3 Pay*es Poly Hives 7 Poly Nucs
Hi All
Recieved my first bees 4frames of brood and food along with an hours worth of flying bees. Unfortunately there was only one ripe queen cell from another hive available so was instructed to introduce this when I got home then wait a fortnight for the queen to have hatched and mated. Fed the bees 1:1 sugar solution and 2pt went down rapidly over the first week.
I did notice Wed lunch a lot of activity around the entrance but no swarm possibly queen leavinbg on her mating flight?
Its a lovely day here and my wife is gardening this morning only to see hundreds of bees leaving my hive and swarming onto a tree in my neighbours garden. She called me and I was able to go home. Yes they had swarmed and it was the size of a small football and it was in a hawthorn tree seven foot up.
Got suited up and smoker going and off I went with a pair of ladders a bucket and a P£$%^s Poly nuc. Knocked all the bees into a bucket then tipped them into the poly nuc and popped the roof on Placed the nuc on the bucket and waited. Sure enough they started fanning at the entrance and all the bees from the tree entered the nuc.
The question is: I only have foundation so will the frames be ok and get drawn for HM to lay?
The nuc is in the cool garage at the moment and they seem quiet so will put out later. I have only three frames in it so will need to put three more in but I have no drawn comb. Will this matter?
I wonder if I could have a new queen in the original hive they issued from but after inspecting there is nothing only drones and bees on the comb filling it up with pollen and nectar.
Wow! I must say 13 days a beekeeper and a swarm already . What next. By the way they definately do not follow what it says in the books I've been reading.
Recieved my first bees 4frames of brood and food along with an hours worth of flying bees. Unfortunately there was only one ripe queen cell from another hive available so was instructed to introduce this when I got home then wait a fortnight for the queen to have hatched and mated. Fed the bees 1:1 sugar solution and 2pt went down rapidly over the first week.
I did notice Wed lunch a lot of activity around the entrance but no swarm possibly queen leavinbg on her mating flight?
Its a lovely day here and my wife is gardening this morning only to see hundreds of bees leaving my hive and swarming onto a tree in my neighbours garden. She called me and I was able to go home. Yes they had swarmed and it was the size of a small football and it was in a hawthorn tree seven foot up.
Got suited up and smoker going and off I went with a pair of ladders a bucket and a P£$%^s Poly nuc. Knocked all the bees into a bucket then tipped them into the poly nuc and popped the roof on Placed the nuc on the bucket and waited. Sure enough they started fanning at the entrance and all the bees from the tree entered the nuc.
The question is: I only have foundation so will the frames be ok and get drawn for HM to lay?
The nuc is in the cool garage at the moment and they seem quiet so will put out later. I have only three frames in it so will need to put three more in but I have no drawn comb. Will this matter?
I wonder if I could have a new queen in the original hive they issued from but after inspecting there is nothing only drones and bees on the comb filling it up with pollen and nectar.
Wow! I must say 13 days a beekeeper and a swarm already . What next. By the way they definately do not follow what it says in the books I've been reading.
