Research into swarming

[Do224]

I keep hearing that swarming is all but finished now and people are stopping weekly inspections.

It would be really interesting to see a graph that shows swarming occurances throughout the spring and summer for a sample of colonies. Surely there has been research published on this at some point in the UK….I guess the colonies would have to be unmanaged/wild.

Can anyone point me in the direction of something along these lines?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I keep hearing that swarming is all but finished now

Swarming never ends, it's just there comes a time of year when the likelihood of it happening is less.

 

[Erichalfbee]

People report swarming into October and as early as the beginning of March. You have to judge your colony. I'm still looking into the odd one or two, others I have left alone for the last two or three weeks

 

[Apiarist]

I had a colony swarm on the 10th Oct. last year, it was a 2020 queen which had made no attempt to swarm before ... the beginning of Oct. last year was very sunny and mild, the bees were very busy, and I was feeding for Winter. They'll always catch you out!

 

[Do224]

It would just be interesting to see some statistics…I’m actually curious from the point of view of catching swarms in swarm traps rather than losing swarms from hives.

The scouts have all disappeared from my swarm traps during the last week and I’m wondering if that’s it for this season now…

 

[Apiarist]

Prof. T. Seeley has done good research into what bees prefer in relation to hives when they are swarming, such as the size of the hive and size of entrance, from memory they are 40 litres and 18 sq. cm (from memory), also I recall a study done in Australia which concluded queens reared that year only had a 10% chance of swarming in the same year (commercial lines I think, A m ligustica type); but I'm not aware of any other research, apart from research looking at the swarmyness of different subspecies, I believe A m carnica (the northern European / German strain, not Slovenian) were the least swarmy (beeks have led me to believe they'll swarm earlier and can catch beeks out, ie: April) and A m mellifera on average were the most swarmy (I think), but the bees that had the high percentage of A m mellifera were the most swarmy.

As for studies into what causes swarmyness, etc. I seem to remember reading an article that made reference to research that showed congestion did cause swarming, but it really was what beeks would tell you anyway. I find during the June gap ideas of swarming go out of their mind. I blame my hive last year swarming in Oct. down to me feeding them (mimicking a strong nectar flow) coupled with the sudden two weeks of really good weather!

Oh, it's well known that the age of the queen affects swarmyness a lot, older queen = less pheromones.

 

[magor]

Oh, it's well known that the age of the queen affects swarmyness a lot, older queen = less pheromones.

guess thats called supercedure no swarm

 

[Moody]

For the past several weeks I have noticed the hives havnt been creating play cups so could do 2 weekly inspections.

Also how can you feed in autumn and avoid mimicking a nectar flow so they don't swarm?

 

[blackcloud]

Just feed them.
If they swarm they were going to anyway regardless of the beekeepers interferences.

 

[Ian123]

For the past several weeks I have noticed the hives havnt been creating play cups so could do 2 weekly inspections.

Also how can you feed in autumn and avoid mimicking a nectar flow so they don't swarm?

Don’t worry go ahead and feed by that time of year very few will show any inclination to swarm the natural impulse for them is to pack down for winter.

 

[elainemary]

People report swarming into October and as early as the beginning of March. You have to judge your colony. I'm still looking into the odd one or two, others I have left alone for the last two or three weeks

Dani, are these colonies that haven’t swarmed at all this year that you’re still looking at? Or other criteria?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Also how can you feed in autumn and avoid mimicking a nectar flow so they don't swarm?

you don't, just don't start feeding too early as some seem to advise, by the time the autumn comes bees will be geared to store up for the winter and you need to pile on the food as quickly as you can - not in dribs and drabs which is guaranteed to trigger them into expansion mode again and risk swarming

 

[Ian123]

I don’t think I’ve seen any detailed research on swarm timings bar the crudest graph. Probably because it would vary with country/area’s and even different seasons. Dearth’s drought/cold/rain will all alter each years results. On this forum there’s reports of swarms from late march till October, I suggest some very late swarms would probably be a result of supercedure gone wrong. April till end of YOUR..main flow should be the time for traps, there’s very little any side of those periods.

 

[Goran]

At my place if now colony swarms.. is said look out for " American" ( AFB), varroa overload, in general - nothing good.. Usually at my place when black locust stops, swarming stops. This year it was noticeable at my colonies as some switch is closed and mood changed completely and brooding was slowed. In June can occur few swarms " late bloomers" or so..

 

[pargyle]

I don't unduly worry about bees swarming .. if you are keeping an eye on things and inspecting for queen cells you will know if they are going to swarm and you can do something about it.

I think there are a number of triggers for swarming:

1. Following or towards the end of a good flow.
2. A period of settled weather where ambient temperatures are above 15 degrees.
3. Congested hive
4. The presence of 'foreign' drones.
5. Second or third year queen with good laying pattern.
6. The propensity of the colony to swarm ... swarmy bees tend to swarm.

Whether and when these conditons arrive in the months March to October and whether the colony takes advantage of the opportunity - well, that's in the lap of the bee Gods !

The likelihood, in most parts of the UK, is that the conditions conducive to swarming will arrive in May, June and July. There will always be colonies who decide that they will swarm outside of these three months and there is some evidence, with our milder winters and warmer springs, that April is seeing more swarms than historically occurred.

Without wishing to be too contentious I rather think that early swarms may, in some cases, be the result of the beekeeper:

1. Spring feeding to excess - or feeding when the colony still has winter stores left (The current propensity for maintaining fondant on the colony 'just in case' may not help).

2. Early colony build up not being noticed where the queen is fecund and starts fully laying early in the year - single national boxes are not often enough space for modern queens.

3. Laying space restricted because there are too many frames of stores left in the hive and insufficient space for the queen to lay.

4. Invasive, too frequent, inspections, by the beekeeper early in the season - I feel upsets the colonies natural order of things - too much disturbance promotes the urge to find more amenable quarters - and I think this becomes more evident when they make a multiplicity of queen cells - why produce 10 or 15 queen cells if only a prime swarm or caste is intended ?- It seems to me that this is a colony intent on leaving this hive for good.

So... I accept that some of the above is just conjecture on my part - it comes from observation rather than any formal study. In the last few years I've had fewer swarms than I did in my early years of beekeeping - and I think it's cognisance of the above that has helped.

I have a couple of queens that are 3 years old and these colonies have never showed signs of swarming and this year I've had no swarm preps at all in any colonies and just one supercedure. In a year when other beekeepers in my area are telling me it's been a very 'swarmy' year. Just lucky I guess ? I'll probably be eating my words shortly when they all push off in October !!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Spring feeding to excess

There's not many reasons ever to feed in the spring - another mantra passed on by the usual suspects years ago which nobidy bothered to question, unless you need the colony to step up a gear (for the OSR for instance, or to start queen rearing) it's a pretty pointless exercise.

 

[pargyle]

There's not many reasons ever to feed in the spring - another mantra passed on by the usual suspects years ago which nobidy bothered to question, unless you need the colony to step up a gear (for the OSR for instance, or to start queen rearing) it's a pretty pointless exercise.

I agree; I've only ever never needed to feed in Spring once - I think it was the really late spring in 2013 ? from memory ... even then it was only a top up with fondant to keep them going for a week or two when stores were running thin ... but, down here, even in our balmy, semi-mediterranean, South coast climate I see people who are feeding syrup from February through to April in some cases ... I don't understand it ... and when I question the people who are doing it ... they can't offer any logical explanations - it's like chinese whispers ~ someone, told someone, sometime it was a good idea .... and pass it on. No thought, no reason ...

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I've only ever never needed to feed in Spring once - I think it was the really late spring in 2013

I think it was either 2012 or 2013, the only time I've ever had to feed in the spring, colonies throwing brood out and everything, it was the year the colony in the chapel wall died out, they came through winter strong but starved when it got cold again - and stayed cold.

 

[Ian123]

As above a lot of the early swarms are caused by a food bound brood nest. In my area there can be a decent flow weather permitting when cherry and black thorn flower. It’s not so much feeding but beeks not adding space or juggling frames to provide for the expanding brood imo.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I think it was either 2012 or 2013, the only time I've ever had to feed in the spring, colonies throwing brood out and everything, it was the year the colony in the chapel wall died out, they came through winter strong but starved when it got cold again - and stayed cold.

Just checked - it was 2013