Plan of action if/when catch a swarm

[drex]

Typically queens fly in early afternoon. As long as the new hive will be in exactly the same spot as you placed the nucs they will find their new home

 

[Gilberdyke John]

Earlier post said to ‘transfer when bees are flying, not at the end of the day’.

If I transfer early morning isn’t that the same as doing it at the end of the day? Also, if I did it this morning would the bees have had chance to become ‘locked in’ as I only moved them to the new site last night?

I think there's been a misinterpreted situation. From what I've read it seems you have a new swarm in a nuc which you intend to move to a permanent site. You don't know if the swarm is prime or cast but it has lots of room to expand in the nuc so there's no need to be swapping frames from nuc to a hive for some time and best leave the bees to get on with their business without additional disruption for a while.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Earlier post said to ‘transfer when bees are flying, not at the end of the day’.

If I transfer early morning isn’t that the same as doing it at the end of the day? Also, if I did it this morning would the bees have had chance to become ‘locked in’ as I only moved them to the new site last night?

I wasn’t clear. I think it’s better to transfer the bees when they have the opportunity to reorientate and return to their new home comfortably so morning is better than at the end of the day when all of them have stopped flying

 

[Erichalfbee]

I think there's been a misinterpreted situation. From what I've read it seems you have a new swarm in a nuc which you intend to move to a permanent site. You don't know if the swarm is prime or cast but it has lots of room to expand in the nuc so there's no need to be swapping frames from nuc to a hive for some time and best leave the bees to get on with their business without additional disruption for a while.

They are in a bait hive

 

[Sutty]

You don't want to transfer into the new hive late in the day when they have stopped flying as bees left outside the hive are liable to get chilled and not find their way back in. When they are flying and have been disturbed some will be scenting from their nasonov glands to help others find the entrance.
As Hemo says, the queen is unlikely to be doing a mating flight early in the day but more likely when warmer.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

If I transfer early morning isn’t that the same as doing it at the end of the day?

No - because that is at the beginning of the day when there is still plenty of sunlight to go.
You want the bees to be flying so that the ones dislodged, left in the old box etc. have time to get settled and find their way back to the colony - rather than being left out to chill in the night.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

They are in a bait hive

Thanks for clarifying Dani. If they still have sufficient space to draw out/expand I'd leave them in the current box for a while yet.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Thanks for clarifying Dani. If they still have sufficient space to draw out/expand I'd leave them in the current box for a while yet.

Which is what I do. My bait hives are liveable in 8 frame 14x12 Payne’s nucs.

 

[Do224]

Just opened the bait hive up and no swarm....guess I should have collected them straight away as they didn’t go in after all...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Just opened the bait hive up and no swarm....guess I should have collected them straight away as they didn’t go in after all...

Yep....scooped them in

 

[user 20297]

Just opened the bait hive up and no swarm....guess I should have collected them straight away as they didn’t go in after all...

That's annoying, to say the least. Lesson learned. As I've also found, anything beekeeping is really tricky to do when following distanced advice. But looking positively, you have the experience now and will know better what to do next time. I had the same dilemma with my own swarm last week but decided a swarm in the hive was worth ten in the bush. I am seeing scout activity again, which isn't my own bees this time; so maybe things are hotting up again?

 

[Antipodes]

Just opened the bait hive up and no swarm....guess I should have collected them straight away as they didn’t go in after all...

I'm sorry to hear that.
I thought that might have happened as it seemed a bit quick for them to have gone from a large external cluster to all in the box....

I'm disappointed for you. Hopefully as Beebee has suggested, another may come along .

 

[Sutty]

Makes me wonder if the queen wasn't with them

 

[Do224]

As mentioned in another thread (I decided I should really be posting all my newbie questions over here in the beginners section), I was fortunate enough to catch a second swarm on Sunday and they stayed in the swarm trap this time.

I moved them to the apiary on Sunday night. There were barely any bees flying yesterday or early this morning so I thought they might have disappeared again......but when I opened them up mid morning they were all busily building wax. I moved them into the proper hive and left them with the old black brood frame and three of the ‘starter strip’ frames they seemed to be heavily invested in. I replaced all the other starter strip frames with new full frames of foundation.

Lastly, I gave them one litre of 1:1 syrup. Is there anything else I should be doing....more syrup?

 

[Do224]

Bees have been flying well today. I’ve been advised by someone to give them Apiguard to treat for varroa. Is this the best thing to do and when would be the right time to do it? Or should I be ‘vaping’ them instead?

I’ve also been asked to move the hive by about ten metres on Friday (they were sited in their current position on Sunday night). I’m putting up a bit of resistance to this as I’m assuming I’ll lose lots of bees??

Many thanks for the advice as always

 

[Sutty]

Asked to move by who?
Can you move them slowly eg a metre per day?
Any chance if moving them 2 miles or more for a few days then back to the new site?

 

[BugsInABox]

Bees have been flying well today. I’ve been advised by someone to give them Apiguard to treat for varroa. Is this the best thing to do and when would be the right time to do it? Or should I be ‘vaping’ them instead?

I’ve also been asked to move the hive by about ten metres on Friday (they were sited in their current position on Sunday night). I’m putting up a bit of resistance to this as I’m assuming I’ll lose lots of bees??

Many thanks for the advice as always

They are broodless so an ideal opportunity to do an oxalic acid treatment. Vap treatment if you can borrow the kit else an OA dribble. Lots here about it.

Re the move, perhaps a little move a day would be bets; but I wonder, if they are the only hive about, would the lost flyers find their way home anyway as no other option - someone will be along shortly with the answer having tried it probably.

 

[Do224]

Asked to move by who?
Can you move them slowly eg a metre per day?
Any chance if moving them 2 miles

They are broodless so an ideal opportunity to do an oxalic acid treatment. Vap treatment if you can borrow the kit else an OA dribble. Lots here about it.

Re the move, perhaps a little move a day would be bets; but I wonder, if they are the only hive about, would the lost flyers find their way home anyway as no other option - someone will be along shortly with the answer having tried it probably.

There are four other hives within a few metres of mine. The beekeeper I am sharing the woods with has asked me to move my hive by about ten or fifteen metres as he had planned to put one of his hives where mine currently is (he neglected to mention this before I sited my hive). He reckons I can just go ahead and move it before the end of the week as the bees will still be in swarm mode and won’t have orientated yet......but there were loads of my bees flying in the good weather today so surely they have already orientated?

 

[Sutty]

I would definitely resist that. I think a swarm re-orientates very quickly, and if he puts a hive in your original position it will collect all your foragers. Moving it 10m will mean they go into those closer hives even if nothing on the original site.
I'd say you'll move it half a hive-width every day or two! Alternatively move it 3 miles for a week and then back to the desired site.

 

[BugsInABox]

I moved mine the next day, within about 18 hrs. there were a lot of bees flying around the original site the next day