Swarm - Year 2

[Andson]

I had 4 swarms last year in my second year of beekeeping - A steep and interesting learning curve so say the least.

Three of the swarms were caught and went to good homes.

I kept the last cast swarm, a small little cluster at the time and housed them in what I could put together, which was a spare super. They kept going into the summer and I put on another super, with no queen excluder. They built up stores, got through the winter and are now thriving - but in two supers.

This afternoon I went through the supers, good patterns of brood and stores. I have put a brood box on top of the supers, again with no excluder, on the theory that the bees will move up. I have put a feed on top to support the drawing out of the brood frames.

Maybe a little late to ask, but is this the best courses of action to get the colony settled in a brood box.

Any advice as to when to remove the lower supers? What next?

Any comments gratefully received.

 

[dexter's shed]

Any advice as to when to remove the lower supers? What next?

Any comments gratefully received.

wait until they have drawn out the frames and the queen is laying in the brood box, then put the supers above but with a excluder beneath them, any brood there will hatch, leaving you with everything in the right place

 

[pargyle]

It's a bit early in the season to be putting a full empty ? brood box on top of your colony ... it's asking a lot of them to be drawing out comb in the temperatures that we are likely to get. I would be very surprised if you get much drawn out and I think the bees will probably stay where they are amongst their existing drawn comb and stores.

I would have been inclined to leave them as they are until it really starts to warm up and then start exchanging the super frames for deeps by removing two super frames of stores (one from the super above and one from below) and putting a new deep in place of these for them to draw out. You would get the new frames drawn quite quickly when they got going and once you have swapped most of the super frames then transfer the lot into a brood box.

There may be some other ideas but that's what I would have done (although I try to avoid getting into situations like this as it's not always that easy to get out of them !).

Famous last words those are ....

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's a bit early in the season to be putting a full empty ? brood box on top of your colony ... it's asking a lot of them to be drawing out comb in the temperatures that we are likely to get. I would be very surprised if you get much drawn out and I think the bees will probably stay where they are amongst their existing drawn comb and stores.

I would have been inclined to leave them as they are until it really starts to warm up

They're going to struggle now with that vast empty cavern above them, I'd have waited another couple of weeks and then done it. Don't think there's much wrong in theory with Phil's idea of the gradual frame swap but I'd prefer the Bailey route - slap a deep box on and let them get on with it (when it's warmer) much less faff

 

[wessexmario]

- putting an empty box above the 2 supers is going to create a cold space above the brood. We're not out of the frosts yet, so that's not good.

- bees build comb hanging from the ceiling, they build down, not up.

What I would do now is move that brood box under the two supers.
That way there won't be any increase in heat convection above the brood during any cold spells, and when they are ready to do it they'll gradually draw out the comb in the brood box and progressively the brood will move down into the brood box.
And you won't have to swap anything around - which is better for the bees.

 

[MuswellMetro]

They're going to struggle now with that vast empty cavern above them, I'd have waited another couple of weeks and then done it. Don't think there's much wrong in theory with Phil's idea of the gradual frame swap but I'd prefer the Bailey route - slap a deep box on and let them get on with it (when it's warmer) much less faff

agree totallyl with you JBM, i was at Bayford not more than 6 miles away from his hives yesterday and it was far to cold to open up and put on a full brood box ##wooly jumper time but then i am a london wimp with underfloor heating in the kichen so my tootsy dont get cold make morning tea

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

but then i am a london wimp with underfloor heating in the kichen so my tootsy dont get cold make morning tea

Hmm, must be a London thing - my brother's house in East Finchley has underfloor heating in the kitchen and bathroom bit weird just sitting there in contemplation and you feel your feet getting warmer and warmer - thought I was having a hot flush moment!

 

[Andson]

Thank you for your suggestions and comments so far.

Is it worth undoing what I done until it is warmer then?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Thank you for your suggestions and comments so far.

Is it worth undoing what I done until it is warmer then?

personally I would - maybe, as it is already on put it underneath the brood until it warms up a bit - less disturbance for the bees that way. all they'll do later on is move the brood down and put honey in the supers, you can then, if you want ensure the queen is in the BB and slaan excluder in