Swarm Prevention

[charlievictorbravo]

you are better off giving the Q+ end drawn comb if you have any - it's also handy to have an entrance at the Q- end to allow drones that have emerged to exit the hive - not a nice sight seeing drones stuck in the QX

How can we accommodate an entrance/exit for the drones in the Q- part when it is a vertical configuration?

I have a Snelgrove board from which I could remove the mesh, so there is a connection between Q+ and Q- and the drones can get out if I leave a door or two open. Will that work or will the mesh hole (10cmx10cm) not be big enough?

CVB

 

[Hivemaker.]

How can we accommodate an entrance/exit for the drones in the Q- part when it is a vertical configuration?

Framed queen excluder with a small side entrance, or just drill a hole in the box, plug it when not in use.

 

[Thymallus]

How can we accommodate an entrance/exit for the drones in the Q- part when it is a vertical configuration?
CVB

If you are feeling practical an Imirie shim will do the trick. But drilling holes as HM suggests is much easier.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have a Snelgrove board from which I could remove the mesh, so there is a connection between Q+ and Q- and the drones can get out if I leave a door or two open. Will that work or will the mesh hole (10cmx10cm) not be big enough?

CVB

The world's your lobster - QX with a shallow eke on top drill a hole in the eke,make a purpose built eke - 10mm or so deep with a gap of about an inch wide in one side to act as an entrance I was given a couple of snelgrove boards this year and have cut a four inch square hole in the middle which I have covered with a piece of metal QX

 

[Tremyfro]

I can do this within the long hive....as there is an entrance at both ends.....if you usually put a super between the 2 brood boxes....would it be sufficient to add extra comb frames each side of the divider? Or is it better to put supers above each side of the divider?

 

[Millet]

I may have misunderstood some of the points given to me but here goes, instead of using a snelgrove board can i not just place a open mesh floor on top of the queen excluder above the top super with the varroa mesh removed and the back inspection board entrance blocked/modified, with the Q- brood box put onto that, which would more or less give them the same entrance as the Q+ brood box. ? .

 

[charlievictorbravo]

If you are feeling practical an Imirie shim will do the trick. But drilling holes as HM suggests is much easier.

I could not get the link to work but I found this, which tells me everything I need to know; http://www.michiganbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Imirie-Shim_20110326.pdf

The US beekeepers seem to favour this shim as a means of improving ventilation during honey-ripening (as well as a "shortcut" for foragers into the supers). Is this likely to be necessary in the UK's temperate climate?

CVB

 

[For want of a better word]

I could not get the link to work but I found this, which tells me everything I need to know; http://www.michiganbees.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/Imirie-Shim_20110326.pdf

The US beekeepers seem to favour this shim as a means of improving ventilation during honey-ripening (as well as a "shortcut" for foragers into the supers). Is this likely to be necessary in the UK's temperate climate?

CVB

I have always known these as Harries Boards, the ones I use have two opposite dovetailed entrances with the blocks attached to a piece of string so that they does not get lost.
I have used them with great effect with the swarm mode / superceedure mode hive manipulation for queen rearing as described by David Woodward, whereby the colony is manipulated utilising 2 entrances and a long board

Does garlic get rid of trolls?... as kids my grandfather said if we did not say hello to the fairies when passing over a bridge.. the trolls would get them and swap them for hubcaps......

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I can do this within the long hive....as there is an entrance at both ends.....if you usually put a super between the 2 brood boxes....would it be sufficient to add extra comb frames each side of the divider? Or is it better to put supers above each side of the divider?

no - you want distance between the Q+ and Q- sides of the colony - so just add extra frames between each

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I may have misunderstood some of the points given to me but here goes, instead of using a snelgrove board can i not just place a open mesh floor on top of the queen excluder above the top super with the varroa mesh removed and the back inspection board entrance blocked/modified, with the Q- brood box put onto that, which would more or less give them the same entrance as the Q+ brood box. ? .

Trouble is, all that extra space you're giving them between the bottom of the top brood frames and the topbars of the super is going to encourage brace comb - much easier just to get four pieces of 10mm batten and make a shim/eke.

As an aside - we've had the arguments of calling shallows supers or nadirs or whatever - in this case shouldn't we be calling them inters?

 

[Thymallus]

Does garlic get rid of trolls?... as kids my grandfather said if we did not say hello to the fairies when passing over a bridge.. the trolls would get them and swap them for hubcaps.

What is this moronic obsession that you and Junior have with mythological creatures?
Seems neither of you is capable of reasoned debate without making accusatory suggestions.

 

[Thymallus]

duplicate post for some reason....

 

[Thymallus]

much easier just to get four pieces of 10mm batten and make a shim/eke.

Just remembered an old beekeeper once showed me a simpler way that didn't involve carpentry skills or spending drinking vouchers. Stick a twig (approx 10mm diam) in between the corner of the brood box and super (or whatever) to create a temporary extra entrance.

 

[Thymallus]

Snelgrove's 'Swarming, it's control and prevention' details it,

Does anyone use, or has tried Snelgrove's swarm control method of locating the queen in the top box with the brood and queen cells?
He reckoned the bees then destroy the queen cells and advocated using this when queen cells are present, rather than his classic preemptive separation. I've not come across it anywhere else, so either it fell out of "fashion" or it didn't work in other beekeepers hands.

 

[Finman]

(or whatever) to create a temporary extra entrance.

Stick a twig (approx 10mm diam) in between the corner of the brood box and super (or whatever) to create a temporary extra entrance.

Bees fill the extra space with burr.

 

[Finman]

Does anyone use, or has tried Snelgrove's swarm control method of locating the queen in the top box with the brood and queen cells?
(/QUOTE]

Demaree's big innovation: separate queen and brood.

Thymallus: put them together (they were allready together)

 

[Thymallus]

Demaree's big innovation: separate queen and brood.

Thymallus: put them together (they were allready together)

Yeahhhh I do that. I was interested in whether Snelgroves method II was still used and whether it was also effective.

 

[Finman]

Yeahhhh I do that. I was interested in whether Snelgroves method II was still used and whether it was also effective.

You make an artificial swarm, and you separate swarm and brood hive with Snelgrove board. Or with what ever board. Brood part flyes to opposite direction than swarm part.'

Thats all. What a nuisance the after care.

You must lift allways the upper hive if you want to peep to lower hive. When you have a big hive, first time will be your last time

 

[Thymallus]

Yes, classic swarm control. Snelgrove gave details where he separated the flying bees from the nurse bees with queen cells but placed the queen in with nurse bees and queen cells. This was his method 2 variation. If I remember correctly he said it worked fine as long as the flying bees don't find the queen before board put in. It was such a different method to most swarm controls that it stuck in my mind. I wondered if anyone had ever tried it. The advantage he claimed was that the nurse bees with queen tore the queen cells down themselves. No work required.

 

[Finman]

Yes, classic swarm control. Snelgrove gave details where he separated the flying bees from the nurse bees with queen cells but placed the queen in with nurse bees and queen cells. This was his method 2 variation. If I remember correctly he said it worked fine as long as the flying bees don't find the queen before board put in. It was such a different method to most swarm controls that it stuck in my mind. I wondered if anyone had ever tried it. The advantage he claimed was that the nurse bees with queen tore the queen cells down themselves. No work required.

Snelgrove III: PICK THE SWARM FROM APPLE TREE BRANCH

When I asked what to do now...

Yeah. No work required.