Can anyone help please. I collected a swarm 3 weeks ago, put into a new hive, they have drawn frames out and laid a lot of eggs, now covering nearly 8 frames. The queen was already marked with a red marker. Came home yesterday with a swarm in the hedge which I collected and put into a hive and as the bees were going in I saw a marked queen which was red!! When I checked the original hive, the bees were very agitated and I could not find the queen or queen cells, has anyone come across a swarm leaving this soon. Any advice please?
Swarm has left after 3 weeks.
- Thread starter harle66
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Did they have enough stores?
tonybloke
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I'd have another look in the hive, the bees shouldn't leave without leaving a queen cell ( unsealed or sealed)
I fed the swarm when it first arrived but haven't given any syrup for the last week. On checking, there does not seem to be any stores and under the hive on the stone slab, there are a lot of wax cappings. Do you think this is the reason for them going?
richardbees
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harle;
Have you found any Q cells?
Where are you in the UK? - Here in South London my bees are going crazy gorging on the Lime trees - so feeding shouldn't be a problem.
Have you found any Q cells?
Where are you in the UK? - Here in South London my bees are going crazy gorging on the Lime trees - so feeding shouldn't be a problem.
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richardbees
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harle,
Essex - so you've also now got good enough forage that they don't need feeding.
If you saw eggs and the Q has gone, they'll create an emergency Q cell soon.
But I still think if the red spotted Q did leave there must have been a viable replacement already there....maybe leave it a few days and look again.
(dish - I think my bees are now too overweight to make the quarter mile to Clapham Common!)
Essex - so you've also now got good enough forage that they don't need feeding.
If you saw eggs and the Q has gone, they'll create an emergency Q cell soon.
But I still think if the red spotted Q did leave there must have been a viable replacement already there....maybe leave it a few days and look again.
(dish - I think my bees are now too overweight to make the quarter mile to Clapham Common!)
Midland Beek
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It only needs one queen cell for a swarm to leave. You tend to only get one or two queen cells when the bees are superseding their old queen. Do not be too hasty in destroying any queen cells in your swarmed stock because they need to get themselves queenright again.
No. Are you sure this is not another swarm from the same apiary as your's came from originally? There would likely be more than one queen marked with red.
If it has gone, I would expect there to be a queen cell (a swarmed queen will often be superceded shortly after hiving, but she would not normally leave the hive again). If she has, indeed gone, I would change the genes - who wants a strain of bees with that trait!
Regards, RAB
If it has gone, I would expect there to be a queen cell (a swarmed queen will often be superceded shortly after hiving, but she would not normally leave the hive again). If she has, indeed gone, I would change the genes - who wants a strain of bees with that trait!
Regards, RAB
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If the bees were aggitated and readily fanning when inspected then that is an indication the swarm came from that hive.
Bees will absond from hives under certain conditions such as heat stress so such a scenario is not impossible.
If you can't find the marked queen in the original hive, that is an indication of the swams origin. The appearance of queen cells is absolute clarification!
I've not had queens in swarms superceeded shortly after hiving. They might be superceded later in the season though.
As you collected the swam and found the marked queen in a hedge at home I think it's more than likely the swarm came from your hive...
Would think about those bees though, they sound a bit swarmy to me!
Bees will absond from hives under certain conditions such as heat stress so such a scenario is not impossible.
If you can't find the marked queen in the original hive, that is an indication of the swams origin. The appearance of queen cells is absolute clarification!
I've not had queens in swarms superceeded shortly after hiving. They might be superceded later in the season though.
As you collected the swam and found the marked queen in a hedge at home I think it's more than likely the swarm came from your hive...
Would think about those bees though, they sound a bit swarmy to me!
Thank you all for your replies. You are right, I will have to think about keeping this queen as they do seem swarmy. Think I will give them the benefit of the doubt for the time being, then decide what to do.
