Swarm Management

[Erichalfbee]

Do you think a Bailey comb exchange would provide proactive swarm control similar to a Demaree? I've recently been lazy in comb renewal so next season I'm thinking of Bayleying most of my hives. Fortunately I have surplus brood boxes because of a policy switch to single bb rather than double.

No. It might delay it but you’re not separating the queen from most of the brood and giving her endless space to lay which is what a Demaree does.
i Baileyed a colony this year and they didn’t swarm but neither did a couple of others.

 

[Amari]

You'd probably be better off just Demarreeing all the colonies, Doing a modified Bailey isn't going to dampen the swarming urge much, Demarree will, and a bog standard Demarree will leave you with a top box with all the old comb in which you can just extract and then get rid of.

Yes, sounds sensible. Thanks

 

[Amari]

No. It might delay it but you’re not separating the queen from most of the brood and giving her endless space to lay which is what a Demaree does.
i Baileyed a colony this year and they didn’t swarm but neither did a couple of others.

You've convinced me. Thanks

 

[Erichalfbee]

You've convinced me. Thanks

I’m a great fan. It’s hard work with a 14x12 but I still like it and always do a couple.

 

[deemann1]

Demaree is a great method
I used it this season on several colonies

 

[Michael Palmer]

Difficult for me to say what I do will be appropriate for beekeepers where you are. I need a large broodnest here. Our spring buildup is so fast and strong...so I have two broods and a super. We super early...not long after the first pollen flows begin...absolutely before our dandelion flow. If supers aren't on before dandelions, our broadness get packed with nectar and swarm preps begin. With early supering...two mediums at the end of April...that early flow goes in the supers. Then we reverse the brood chambers. This places empty brood comb space above the active brood rearing cluster. The queen can easily move up, while the nectar storers have comb space above, too. The idea is to keep the bees moving up all the time. To me, incoming nectar, when there is no overhead storage for nectar, forces the cluster to move down. This downward pressure is the prime trigger for swarming. I want this downward pressure eliminated until the main flow. At the point, the bees give up swarming and concentrate on honey storage. That's how we get huge, populous colonies, without any splitting or artificial swarming, to store 200-240 pounds of honey and not swarm.

 

[Curly green finger's]

Difficult for me to say what I do will be appropriate for beekeepers where you are. I need a large broodnest here. Our spring buildup is so fast and strong...so I have two broods and a super. We super early...not long after the first pollen flows begin...absolutely before our dandelion flow. If supers aren't on before dandelions, our broadness get packed with nectar and swarm preps begin. With early supering...two mediums at the end of April...that early flow goes in the supers. Then we reverse the brood chambers. This places empty brood comb space above the active brood rearing cluster. The queen can easily move up, while the nectar storers have comb space above, too. The idea is to keep the bees moving up all the time. To me, incoming nectar, when there is no overhead storage for nectar, forces the cluster to move down. This downward pressure is the prime trigger for swarming. I want this downward pressure eliminated until the main flow. At the point, the bees give up swarming and concentrate on honey storage. That's how we get huge, populous colonies, without any splitting or artificial swarming, to store 200-240 pounds of honey and not swarm.

K. I. S. S.