No swarmimg ! Just close in the queen?

[buffalo_wil]

Why is it not possible or bad to prevent swarming simply by putting a queen excluder to close the entrance.
The queen stays inside for sure and if needed will fight it out with the new born queens.
A drawback could be that if a new queen takes over she can't get out to mate but that must be solvable.
It seems so simple but I can't find anything about it in the literature.
Where is the real problem because the idea can't be new.

 

[darrenperrett]

Hi Buffalo_wil

A Queen excluder is also a drone excluder so if everyone dd that there would be no mated Queens anywhere.

Darren.

 

[Mosquito]

I did remember reading about this a long time ago.
All I remember there was a problem with drones can't get out also.
They would keep trying to get out and get stuck and die.
Also will end up with loads of dead drones in the hive and drones going to the toilet in the hive.

Mozzy.

 

[taff..]

by putting a QE under the BB you are fighting AGAINST what the bees want to do, and you will upset them.

understanding what your bees are doing and working WITH them, by doing an artificial swarm, will keep them happy, surpress the swarming urge and get them back to working on filling the supers quicker.

 

[Finman]

Why is it not possible or bad to prevent swarming simply by putting a queen excluder to close the entrance.

Where is the real problem because the idea can't be new.

In good old days 60 years ago beekeeping books were filled with system how to catch a swarm with excluder system. Bees were mad to swarm.

Now commercial bee stocks have breeded and selected so that they are slow to swarm Some year they do not swarm at all.

But if you stop swarming with force, the hive will be out of mind as long as they get swarm into sky. But that is not beekeeping. The queen stops laying and it does not forage.

 

[Hombre]

Has Buffalo Bill ridden off into the sunset, with no location, hive type or number of colonies to suggest that he is not a troll. Just the old contentious question designed to start a bun fight between like minded dreamers.

 

[crazy_bull]

Alot of queens can slim down enough prior to swarming to get through the queen excluder anyway, the biggest problem as already highlighted is preventing drones flying and congesting the hive and will prevent the bees doing what they want to do which will just cause more trouble than good.

 

[victor meldrew]

8 days ago I did an AS. Day after she swarmed , I stuck her back, this time on a QX , next afternoon they tried to swarm and the afternoon after that !!. by weekend they were working their socks off having settled down fine !.

John Wilkinson

 

[buffalow]

Hi Folks ,
Another reason for not using QE on entrance is that pollen gets ripped from the bees entering the hive .Not good for feeding brood, that is why QE should not be used for mouse guards either
Regards
Mark

 

[victor meldrew]

Hi Folks ,
Another reason for not using QE on entrance is that pollen gets ripped from the bees entering the hive .Not good for feeding brood, that is why QE should not be used for mouse guards either
Regards
Mark

Using a QX in this manner isn't my normal practice when doing an artificial swarm but circumstances often dictate events .

John Wilkinson

 

[buffalo_wil]

Thanks

Thanks for all the answers. The drone and pollen arguments seem to make sense.

 

[taff..]

8 days ago I did an AS. Day after she swarmed , I stuck her back, this time on a QX , next afternoon they tried to swarm and the afternoon after that !!. by weekend they were working their socks off having settled down fine !.

John Wilkinson

if you hadn't have done the AS, and just put the QE in place, do you think they would have settled down or do you think they would still be intent on swarming?