Queen trap swarm prevention
- Thread starter Xander
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trapping queens to stop swarming is not recommended, it's an awful idea dreamt up by the hard of thinking. it achieves nothing apart from damaging the equilibrium of the colony
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Being curious I looked at this when they were first advertised. It seems an awful thing to do.
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Xander
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I don't see how it will achieve anything because it doesn't take away the urge to swarm and doesn't stop QCs being produced so wouldn't you end up with slim virgin queens passing up through the screen, mating and taking off with casts as the season progresses.
Also I thought older queens can slim down when they're ready to leave, enough to fit through the excluder so she might bugger off anyway.
Surely a colony in "status swarmus" (I made that up) constantly would be an arsey lot and you wouldn't want them living at the bottom of the garden?
This device was invented (I think) in Finland so perhaps the generally cooler temperatures keep the swarm season to a minimum few weeks? Maybe Finman if he still looks in? Could give us some insight?
Finally it looks halfway to a Demaree board so why not just do that and keep the colony producing.
Also I thought older queens can slim down when they're ready to leave, enough to fit through the excluder so she might bugger off anyway.
Surely a colony in "status swarmus" (I made that up) constantly would be an arsey lot and you wouldn't want them living at the bottom of the garden?
This device was invented (I think) in Finland so perhaps the generally cooler temperatures keep the swarm season to a minimum few weeks? Maybe Finman if he still looks in? Could give us some insight?
Finally it looks halfway to a Demaree board so why not just do that and keep the colony producing.
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Another myth - the thorax doesn't slim down, only the abdomen - it's the thorax that stops them passing through the QX
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Presumably it also gets bunged up with drones trying to get out as well.
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Xander
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Hehe I'm not going to get one, I have my plans and good advice going forward using conventional methods of swarm prevention and control.
I was just curious whether the career beekeepers use anything like that as the bumf on the one shown recons some guy with 3000 hives is using it abroad somewhere.
It's like the flow frames, I have a set but I'm not even going to bother adapting a box for them because they are made for warmer climes without osr crystallising in them.
I was just curious whether the career beekeepers use anything like that as the bumf on the one shown recons some guy with 3000 hives is using it abroad somewhere.
It's like the flow frames, I have a set but I'm not even going to bother adapting a box for them because they are made for warmer climes without osr crystallising in them.
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They work if you put them on after OSR has gone over.
Go ahead have a play it’s part of beekeeping, most of us that have had bees for a while have tried or fiddled with many aspects of beekeeping/boxes and bees. We just get a little dubious when some come on singing praises or extolling some cooked up virtuesHmm but I'd get slated on here for using them.
They cost me nothing so maybe I'll have an experiment when I've another hive or 2 next year, I'll just have to keep it a secret
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No you won’t. We’ve all had a good laugh at them when they first came out. Now it’s obvious they work for some.
Have a go.
We are just not sure who the some are?
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I know one.
@Paras runs Flows exclusively and charges a great price for his honey.
I think @ericbeaumont is a mate of his. He might know.
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Xander
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Thanks Dani I'll look him up.
Next year when hopefully I've more than one colony producing honey I'll do a trial. Photos the lot. It might be helpful to other new beekeepers to see what a waste or not they are and the problems using them in the UK.
I'll forecast the osr problem and only put them on after the flow, or maybe use one as a sacrificial frame just to see what happens (there's loads of the stuff around here).
I'll begin this summer by building the box to house them then shove it all at the back of the shed until next season.
Tbh I prefer comb honey so a moot point for me.
Back to the original wonderment about the queen trap thing I'm in no doubt that everyone thinks it's crap so that can be put to bed. Although I do wonder who this Finnish beekeeper is who recons he uses it on hundreds of hives
Next year when hopefully I've more than one colony producing honey I'll do a trial. Photos the lot. It might be helpful to other new beekeepers to see what a waste or not they are and the problems using them in the UK.
I'll forecast the osr problem and only put them on after the flow, or maybe use one as a sacrificial frame just to see what happens (there's loads of the stuff around here).
I'll begin this summer by building the box to house them then shove it all at the back of the shed until next season.
Tbh I prefer comb honey so a moot point for me.
Back to the original wonderment about the queen trap thing I'm in no doubt that everyone thinks it's crap so that can be put to bed. Although I do wonder who this Finnish beekeeper is who recons he uses it on hundreds of hives
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Just thinking about flow style hives... Could they be useful for heather honey? The movement of the frames for extraction mode presumably effectively acts like manual agitation. Has anyone tried them?
I’d suspect even once it’s squeezed from cells so slightly agitated it’d still be to thick to flow out the pipe and gathering system.
I don’t know because I’ve not done it but that would be a concern off the top of my head.
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very doubtful it would work - you need some serious agitation to get the honey moving, and then a hammering in a tangential extractor to have any change of it coming out
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I know of a beekeeper who got his FlowHives in OSR area and he has managed to harvest, however his set-up is different from others he has his hive in a mobile hut with a constant temp control.
Another beekeeper who managed without any issues had his on the OSR farm, however I think it is about timing, if you get a cold night you are going to get some sort of crystallisation.
There has been a time when we harvested and there was some crystallise honey that did not flow but the bees later own converted in liquid and we were able to harvest it with in a week. The FlowHive can work even in OSR but It's knowing how to work with them.
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