Queen flees away during Artificial Swarm - what do you do?

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What would you do in this circumstance?

  • Create 2 colonies with possibility of queen rearing

    Votes: 6 42.9%
  • Split and bring in queens

    Votes: 1 7.1%
  • Return parent to original site and monitor to see if she has returned

    Votes: 7 50.0%
  • Other (fill in answer)

    Votes: 2 14.3%

  • Total voters
    14
  • Poll closed .

Noobee

New Bee
Joined
Apr 23, 2011
Messages
3
Reaction score
0
Location
London
Hive Type
14x12
Number of Hives
2
First of all - I am very grateful to all of you , I have been lurking here for a while and gleaned lots of incredibly useful advice. Now I have a situation I would really appreciate feedback on myself:

The situation:

I am going away for a week from April 25- unavoidable.

On April 23 inspection reveals queen cells with eggs in them ( about 8) - eggs abound but don't see (unmarked queen). This colony on 14x12 is bubbling over, begging for space ( I probably didn't super fast enough so there is nectar in the cells vacated by emerged brood). Decide on AS with unite at the end - this colony is on route to be the big producer of the year so want to minimise brood break.

Have all the kit ready. Move parent hive to new location. Move new hive to original location with 9 foundation frames. Remove parent super and QX. Thinking I really hope I find the queen (she's a short and stubby so harder to spot than most), first frame with brood on - there she is! Queen clip at the ready I don't quite get her in it but she is on it. I hold it above the brood and turn it to see if shell go into the trap. She is about to, then flies off! (very distinctive sound of her flying). I follow her flight and she returns a few times then goes, then I can hear her again and follow her again, she alights on the pallets I have for a base, I approach with the catcher again, she flies. I almost try to catch her with my hand as she is in flight. She seems torn between the original hive (now on new site) and the new hive (on original site). I loose sight of her eventually.

So - what I did.

Continued with the AS as if she was there, but instead of one frame with brood and the queen I put 4 frames of brood and 2/3 QCs, original super and closed up. Returned to original, removed all but 2/3 QCs, and added 4 foundation.


Did I do the right thing?

My thinking: She might return to either hive now, or equally to neither. Both need to be able to rear their own queen. The hive on the original site is going to get most of the flying bees returning and has 4 frames of brood. The hive on the new site has 6 frames of brood and non-flying bees. Also, given I can't inspect in 3 days time to find eggs, I thought that since now have enough space, if HM returns, maybe she will get laying and the QCs (which do already have eggs in them) might be abandoned.

Maybe if I could have come back in 4 days I would have kept the hive together and looked for eggs (delaying the AS by 4 days) and then reconsidered. But I am going away!!!!
 
Last edited:
Return parent to original site,and monitor to see if she has returned.


Lost me there.
 
Silly Bee,

Thanks. Would the fact that you can't monitor over the coming 7 days make a difference?
 
ive had this, i were trying to clip and mark the queen and she decided to go for a fly around, i watched her for a while in the hope to pick her up but lost her in the trees, the next day there she was in the hive happy laying egg :D
 
Main point here is you moved the land mark... ie you. Big thing (probaly) in white.

Had this happen with a min nuc years ago, went for a brew in disgust, went back to close them up and in she came, needed the landmark, ie me. LOL

YOu have to assume she is lost, and if she has managed to return to one of the units then bonus.

Go and relax, the bees will work it out for you. they usually do.

PH
 

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