swarm control querie

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mark s

Field Bee
Joined
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Location
Isle Of Wight
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hi all

Ive just been swotting up on swarm control as written in "bees at the bottom of the garden" by mr campion, and the method he is describing there means i have a slight problem with it,i can move my hive to one side of the old site but cant move it too the othere side as the hive is rather close to a wall,ill try and put some pics up later too show what i mean in more detail.
Is there another way around this if not should i consider a different method?
as a total newbee i want too get this part of my beeking experience right if i can.
:cheers2: mark s
 
The second move of the original box in this description of artificial swarming isnt really necessary. The trick with artificial swarming is to understand the theory and then to tinker with the details to suit your needs
 
hi all

Ive just been swotting up on swarm control as written in "bees at the bottom of the garden" by mr campion, and the method he is describing there means i have a slight problem with it,i can move my hive to one side of the old site but cant move it too the othere side as the hive is rather close to a wall,ill try and put some pics up later too show what i mean in more detail.
Is there another way around this if not should i consider a different method?
as a total newbee i want too get this part of my beeking experience right if i can.
:cheers2: mark s


i think that you are talking about artifcial swarm. when you do a artificial swarm the 3 feet/3 mile rule does not apply. the older bees will fly out and join the the hive on the old site. the new/nurse bees will believe thats their home and return to the new site once they start flying.

hope this helps

chris
 
The purpose of the second move after 7 days is to deplete the old brood box, which is the one with the queen cell in it and the old frames, and to reinforce with flying the bees the new box, which is the one on the old site with the old queen. Depleting the population by moving the hive reduces the chance of a swarm when the new queen emerges, which can happen if there is another cell left in or overlooked.

If you can't move the old box to the other side, as described in the text books, just move it anywhere so long as it is a good distance from where it was before, say 10 to 15 feet away, in any direction.

What happens then is flying bees which fly from the hive after the move go off and forage and then return to where the hive used to be. Not finding their hive there they go into the nearest hive where they will be welcomed with open arms - as they bring presents of pollen and nectar.

There are circumstance where a second move is inadvisable. When doing the AS it is normal to leave behind an unsealed queen cell. This means the queen cannot have emerged before the second move 7 days later. However, if there was only a sealed queen cell present there is a great danger the queen may be out on a mating flight when you move the hive, which would be disastrous.
 
thanx for the replies ppl thats helped me a lot:cheers2:
 
I do think that 2nd move is debatable. If the the colony is massive then yes I can understand the need but if it is a standard colony I can't see the need and personally have never done it.

PH
 

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