Queen cell destruction avoids swarming. This time at least.

[Geb]

Found swarm cells last week in one of my colonies, didn't have spare equipment for an AS, so I destroyed all QCs. Returned today, 6 days later, with necessary equipment and found no new QCs. Queen laying nicely, although low on stores. So no AS necessary. Have I got away with it, or will they try again? Only time will tell. Last year In my apiary, all the swarming fever was well and truly over by mid July.

 

[REDWOOD]

25% of colonies will give up swarm fever by removing QC's.
NOT for the beginner.

 

[For want of a better word]

Now you have the kit do an AS... then merge again if you want to, If not you will have another colony!

Yeghes da

 

[Finman]

.
Unless they tried to supergede the Queen. They change the queen in winter if you try to stop them

That is another possibility.

 

[beeno]

25% of colonies will give up swarm fever by removing QC's.
NOT for the beginner.

Hi Redwood,
Should you not explain why it is not for the beginner???

 

[beeno]

Now you have the kit do an AS... then merge again if you want to, If not you will have another colony!

Yeghes da

He has no QC though! Not at the minute anyway and we don't want to produce scrub queens!

 

[beeno]

Hi Geb,
Whether a colony swarms or not has nothing to do with the calendar, but the state of development of the colony, weather and forage i.e. your microclimate. Late swarming is not unusual in my neck of the woods - early to late September. If you put your location in, you may get some more accurate information on the swarming time table for your area.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Hi Redwood,
Should you not explain why it is not for the beginner???

Easy - the other 75%

 

[Stiffy]

Found swarm cells last week in one of my colonies, didn't have spare equipment for an AS, so I destroyed all QCs. Returned today, 6 days later, with necessary equipment and found no new QCs. Queen laying nicely, although low on stores. So no AS necessary. Have I got away with it, or will they try again? Only time will tell. Last year In my apiary, all the swarming fever was well and truly over by mid July.

Tried this when a newbie and the sneeky devils hid QCs from me and they swarmed. I would recommend you are very sure they haven't any QCs before thinking you have gotten away with it?
S

 

[masterBK]

People miss the hidden queen cells because they are not prepared to shake the bees off all the brood combs to look. Some are not prepared to go into the hive unless the sun is shining and so stretch their inspection intervals too long.

 

[itma]

Found swarm cells last week in one of my colonies, didn't have spare equipment for an AS, so I destroyed all QCs. Returned today, 6 days later, with necessary equipment and found no new QCs. Queen laying nicely, although low on stores. So no AS necessary. Have I got away with it, or will they try again? Only time will tell. Last year In my apiary, all the swarming fever was well and truly over by mid July.

1/ Bees won't swarm if they are "low on stores".
If they had started building swarm cells and then found stores were low (possibly as a result of a flow ending or robbing starting), they would have likely torn down the cells themselves.
I kinda wonder if you maybe just saw some Play Cups and overreacted.

2/ I have personally collected a swarm in late September (not from my apiary though).
Swarming is NOT finished by mid-July.

3/ Beekeeping is largely about probabilities, rarely certainties.
The probability of stopping a real swarm impulse by tearing down QCs is low, very low, I'd estimate it at less than Redwood's one chance of it working (3 chances of it failing) out of four occasions.
And even lower if it isn't combined with some other swarm-moderating move, like removing lots of stores and putting extra drawn comb into the brood nest.
Knocking down QCs very very very rarely works to stop swarming.
Not that it never works.
Just that it only very very very occasionally works.
Which is why beginners are instructed to do something more likely to work.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hi Redwood,
Should you not explain why it is not for the beginner???

Queen cells are capped at eight days and usually as soon as they are the colony swarms.
A colony can start a new queen on three day old larvae (that's day 6) and they will if you interfere by breaking down QCs and doing nothing else.
So you can remove QCs close up and two days later (five days before your next scheduled inspection) the colony swarms.

 

[Erichalfbee]

People miss the hidden queen cells because they are not prepared to shake the bees off all the brood combs to look. Some are not prepared to go into the hive unless the sun is shining and so stretch their inspection intervals too long.

Too true.
You HAVE to shake the bees off.
I helped a mentee go through his hive after it swarmed and showed him how to shake bees off the frames and he said he had never done that as he hated all the bees in the air!

 

[beeno]

Queen cells are capped at eight days and usually as soon as they are the colony swarms.
A colony can start a new queen on three day old larvae (that's day 6) and they will if you interfere by breaking down QCs and doing nothing else.
So you can remove QCs close up and two days later (five days before your next scheduled inspection) the colony swarms.

That's the one, I was thinking about - thanks. Otherwise a bit like Italian mother-in-law's recipes leaving a vital ingredient out, so daughter-in-law's baking and cooking always goes wrong. Well, that was our theory anyway!