Swarm Advice Please

[Jeff M]

My second year and having to contends with swarms.

After checking my garden apiary on the morning of the 12th when everything seemed normal, in the afternoon the sky was filled with a massive swarm from one hive that settled on a tree in my garden. I was able to collect them quite easily and they are currently happy in a nuc.

I checked the hive and found 2 frames joined with comb and didn't seperate them in case I interfered with a new queen.

Yesterday the hive erupted again with 2 cast swarms at the same time. I have caught one from my apple tree, but the second is high up in a cherry tree and unreachable. I have set up a swarm trap on a shed roof under the tree in the hope of coaxing them down. Scout bees have already been investigating the trap.

My plan is to transfer the nuc colony to a brood box before uniting with another hive, and transfer yesterday's caught swarm to the nuc ( I guess I need to have 2 nucs in future?). I'll have to wait to see where the high tree swarm goes.

What do I need to do about the hive that swarmed? Do I need to be careful about the new queen? What's the best approach from this point?

Any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated. Thanks.

Jeff.

 

[Magwat]

It may be that they have done swarming now but you can't know that. Others will invariably disagree but for damage limitation I would go into the brood box and open up all remaining queen cells and release all virgins into the hive then close up, go away and leave them to it.

On another point, a nuc box is not sufficiently large to house a big swarm and they could well abscond.

 

[Jeff M]

It may be that they have done swarming now but you can't know that. Others will invariably disagree but for damage limitation I would go into the brood box and open up all remaining queen cells and release all virgins into the hive then close up, go away and leave them to it.

On another point, a nuc box is not sufficiently large to house a big swarm and they could well abscond.

Thanks I will do that today.

I'm transferring the nuc to a brood box today, and if I can find the queen to remove her that colony will then be united with another hive overnight.

 

[Magwat]

Don't forget to sit down afterwards and try to work out how and why the situation arose. What did you do or not do and when and what will you do differently next time? Unfortunately, because beekeeping is seasonal, next time usually means next year - that is why it can take a long time to feel that you have some control but you will get there as long as you learn something each time things don't go quite right.