Swarm in spare boxes

[pookin]

HI there first post as beekeeper . On my own after being mentored . Checked bees other day and a swarm has got into spare supers . Queen present but couldn't see here . How do I go about getting them onto a brood . Haven't any spare drawn comb , only new. Thanks in advance Adrian .

 

[domino]

You can either shake them into a broad box or put a broad box on top and wait for them to move up.

 

[Obee1]

Swarms love drawing new comb. I housed my swarm on all foundation and they drew out 10 frames within the week. You can either put foundation into the super and let them grow to brood and a half or move them into a nuc with full sized frames and move them later into a full sized broodbox. They chose the super themselves so less likely to abscond if left there.
I fed mine straight away but some Beeks wait 3 days for them to use up the honey they brought in their stomachs.
Congratulations on your first swarm!

 

[oliver90owner]

Prime, presumably? Presuming you have seen eggs or larvae? How long in residence?

You could let them run on two shallow boxes with frames if they are firmly esconced.

Some other options above, but it all rather depends on what you actually have there.

 

[Gilberdyke John]

HI there first post as beekeeper . On my own after being mentored . Checked bees other day and a swarm has got into spare supers . Queen present but couldn't see here . How do I go about getting them onto a brood . Haven't any spare drawn comb , only new. Thanks in advance Adrian .

As O9O has said - how long have they been there? I'd also ask the extent of the comb they have drawn and populated, particularly if there are any frames with eggs. If you're sure there is a queen present it sounds as though you have seen eggs even if you didn't find her?
Do you have spare kit? If it's only going to involve a frame or two you could put those into a gap between standard brood frames in a dummied down brood box and the bees will usually extend free comb downward into the gap. This will often be drone comb which can be culled if you practice drone culling as a method of varroa control. At any rate over time after the colony is established you can move the short frames outwards until their final removal.
If they arrived in the last couple of days you can move to another location fairly simply but if they have oriented to their present site the 3/3 guidelines apply.
Finally, you've just had a lesson from the bees to keep spare kit bee tight

 

[MuswellMetro]

similar to last to posts, but if going full pelt and lots of eggs and brood on the super frames it also depends on what size brood boxes you have,

if national standard brood then make a simple 46cm square 75mm depth eke to covert a super to brood size, if on 14x12 then 2 x super is approx a 14 x12

but replace any super frames without eggs/brood with foundation brood frames

i had one this year in the training apiary, i moved the super four miles at dusk and added floor roof and crown board, let them settle for a day,

i then found the queen which i placed with a shake of bees on a frame of emerging brood in a brood box and then put the super above a Queen excluder ( super removed at three weeks

 

[pookin]

Thanks for replies. Been in there about 10 days . Haven't been able to do a lot about them sooner as hurt back and couldn't move . Eggs in there for sure .Running standard national brood .

 

[pookin]

Thanks for replies. Been in there about 10 days . Haven't been able to do a lot about them sooner as hurt back and couldn't move . Eggs in there for sure .Running standard national brood .

Brood in 2 supers with Queen present . Eggs and brood also. Clearing other supers into these