piping

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I dont take care of piping - swarming.

The first swarm normaly leave with laying queen when queen cells have been capped.

Queens start to pipe a week later and then the late swarm escapes. It is too late to beekeeper then.

Piping is funny thing but not much practical to me. Sometimes they pipe, and mostly not.

Beekeeper must act before they start to pipe.


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99% of the time now,the bee's never get to this stage,they lose the old clipped queen and return.Then i put in new queen.No swarm lost,just old queen. But sometimes i miss a swarm control ,perhaps due to bad weather and this may happen,but not often,i have learnt that bee's in tree's are no good to me.I have to control them,as best i can.Most of the year the work involves just keeping the bee's very strong,just for a few good days of good foraging.One virgin can ruin this,swarm. so all the work is in vain
 
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Has anything been published that will stop a virgin from swarming once the decision has been made?
 
Has anything been published that will stop a virgin from swarming once the decision has been made?

I have read that if virgin is one month old or something, it sends feromone which hinders bees to swarm. Of course they swarm if hive is full and there is no place for new nectar or for egs.

So if you have just mated queen fefore main yield it does not probably swarm.

It is bees which have decided to swarm.

If I put false swarm to foundation, they build combs and swarming fewer stops.

If I put foundation into the hive which is going to swarm, it does not build new combs.

With Italian bees I may wish that they stop swarming when I add new supers but Carniolans do not give up.

False swarm + foundations is sure method to stop their ideas.
 
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This is another very true thing, bee's that intend to swam will not make comb from foundation,even in honey flow.
 
This is another very true thing, bee's that intend to swam will not make comb from foundation,even in honey flow.

Yes, it is one sign of swarming intention even if they have not yet queen cells.


Here is basic stuff to beekeeper:
http://www.tnbeekeepers.org/pubs/Swarm%2520Knowledge%2520March%25201999.pdf

He says that stopping is difficult. But it works if you make false swarm into foundation hive. Cells are capped and old queen ihas been taken away. They do not go anywhere. Old bees move during couple of days to new foundation box and they think that they have swarmed.
 
99% of the time now,the bee's never get to this stage,they lose the old clipped queen and return.Then i put in new queen.No swarm lost,just old queen.

Rather than waste time looking for the old queen do you just leave them for a couple of days then check for eggs to see if the old queen is lost or has returned?
 
What about just giving the split a frame of brood and the rest foundation?
I have read that 100% of bees NEVER leave brood.
 
What about just giving the split a frame of brood and the rest foundation?
I have read that 100% of bees NEVER leave brood.

I don't know what you mean?

I put the queen, one brood frame and the rest foundations. But it is better to give enough food too if rainy weathers come. They will starve on their wax.

When swarm goes, about 50% of bees go with swarm, mostly foragers.
 
No, if the old queen is there i will find her.
 
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I got last summer good results when I gove one brood frame, 3 frames of crystallized honey comb (last summer) and 6 foundations. Bees made combs quickly and they cleaned old honey combs for brooding.
 
Swarms

IMO swarms are a nuisance to neighbours and the public, as the majority of the public are scared of thousands of bees flying and making a loud noise. (I am told about noise). I believe its the beekeepers responsibility to carry out swarm detection and swarm control to the best of their ability. As soon as queen cups are filled with an egg and jelly then its up to the individual what action they take. Swarming normally takes place during the spring build up but on saying that it has been known for swarms to emerge as late as September.
Members we must learn the difference between Swarm queen cells, emergency queen cells and supersedure queen cells. This is a must if we are to control swarming and to understand what is happening in the hive. To obtain a good big colony is what is required to benefit from the amount of bees as foragers at the right time, and if they swarm it then means extra work and extra equipment. Of course if you wish to expand then that's another subject.

Hivemaker has made some valid points regarding swarming and queens, and once we have that under our belt then its us who decide how to control swarming. There will be times when a swarm emerges for whatever reason, but that's beekeeping.

Regards; Bcrazy:banghead:
 
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I got last summer good results when I gove one brood frame, 3 frames of crystallized honey comb (last summer) and 6 foundations. Bees made combs quickly and they cleaned old honey combs for brooding.

Thats what I was saying above Finman,give one frame of brood to settle bees,sorry for any confusion.
 
IMO swarms are a nuisance to neighbours and the public, as the majority of the public are scared of thousands of bees flying and making a loud noise. (I am told about noise). I believe its the beekeepers responsibility to carry out swarm detection and swarm control to the best of their ability. As soon as queen cups are filled with an egg and jelly then its up to the individual what action they take. Swarming normally takes place during the spring build up but on saying that it has been known for swarms to emerge as late as September.
Members we must learn the difference between Swarm queen cells, emergency queen cells and supersedure queen cells. This is a must if we are to control swarming and to understand what is happening in the hive. To obtain a good big colony is what is required to benefit from the amount of bees as foragers at the right time, and if they swarm it then means extra work and extra equipment. Of course if you wish to expand then that's another subject.

Hivemaker has made some valid points regarding swarming and queens, and once we have that under our belt then its us who decide how to control swarming. There will be times when a swarm emerges for whatever reason, but that's beekeeping.

Regards; Bcrazy:banghead:

I was caught out with a swarm this year,I hived a large swarm I collected at the end of June and it expanded fast.

Because it was a swarm I never even thought to look for any queen cells because on my weekly inspection I had eggs,capped and uncapped brood.

During an August inspection I could see the hive had lost 50% of its bees and on a close inspection found an opened Queen cell on the bottom of one of the frames and the marked Queen missing.

Because of the time taken I closed up and returned the following day to look just for the queen,after 5 minutes I found what I would call a virgin Queen due to her being very slim.


I left her for 10 days then inspected again and found eggs being laid so I marked and clipped her.

I think my lesson from this is that whatever the books say always expect the unexpected.
 
I've found this thread really useful.

I have 4 newly A/S or split colonies. 3 of these were audibly piping yesterday. (frustrated beek trying to be patient and not interfere...but with ear against box!). Timing wise the new queens are just emerged/ing. I am hopeful therefore, that what I am hearing is a battle cry from the first one out sensing her rivals, as yet still encased....there was also a sort of honk/quack..a response?

They all have loads of room, so I hope this is not a precursor to swarm. ( I left a few queen cells in each colony.

Any thoughts?
 
If, as custom, you have moved the old brood box from one side of the artificial swarm box, to the other about a day before the first queen emerges, there will be very few flying bees in the colony and she (the first) will not swarm out. Well, it will nearly always work. Just the odd, stupid colony that will throw tiny cast swarms which will not be viable. Leaving just a couple of queen cells also helps. Leaving one unsealed cell is even better, as you know it will have a queen in the cell. She will then not be leaving as a cast.

Regards, RAB

Regards, RAB
 

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