swarming

[wood blewit]

Hey Peeps once again im here looking to gleen some more info from this most fantastic wealth of knowledge,
Swarming and prevention methods is there a best way to prevent your bees swarming in the first place if so what is it and how do you bring it into effect up to now i have bought swarm attractant and plan to set a series of Nucs and skeps in various places within a mile of my vicinity in the hopes that when my bees do swarm i may an its a big may catch them again , am i barking up the wrong tree here or am i heading sort of in the right direction?? Help much appreciated .

 

[BeeNice]

I'm sorry, that the subject matter is to long to go into, buy a good book and study. Putting nuc's around the countryside will get you bees, but not necessary your swarmed bees. Maybe others. I have found the book 'A practical Manual of Beekeeping' by David Cramp useful.

 

[masterBK]

Suggest you get enough equipment to super as soon as they need the extra room and to carry out Demaree when colony covering at least 8 combs . If such swarm prevention doesn't work then be prepared to carry out an artificial swarm if they build swarm cells. Beginners not advised to clip queens until they have kept bees for a few years and clipped lots of drones to get the technique right.
And be prepared to regularly check your bees and don't put it off because of rain. Last year lots of people didn't check their bees because of the weather and also didn't super early enough (supers provide the extra room needed whether the bees are bringing in honey or not) and consequently we had a bumper swarm year. Also some people leave two queen cells in the parent colony after swarming or artificial swarming and then wonder why they swarm again.

 

[dn170221]

If you have a local association you could go to a meeting and if you like their style you could join. Plenty of advice and experience hopefully on offer about this and many other topics!

 

[wood blewit]

Thanks , i had read up on the demaree method and u have just confirmed this to be the right course of action to follow, and as for supers i have plenty made up and ready to go plus a spare hive fingers crossed and thank you for your time.

 

[enrico]

Beenice is right. This is a vast topic. We can all give you the way we do it, or don't as the case may be but at the end of the day you have to research it and see what best fits into your lifestyle, wether you have the right amount of equipment needed and how you best feel you can manage them......
I wait for queen cells and artificially swarm. I still get the odd cast but that's what works for me. I run Five hives so I need ten lots of equipment. I then combine later in the year to get my hive numbers down again or sell or give away one my extras.

 

[richardbees]

am i heading sort of in the right direction??

not really.... you should be concentrating on preventing them from swarming.

The absolute golden rule is weekly i.e. every 7 days inspections.....bear in mind they may swarm as soon as a Q cell is sealed which is on the 8th day after laying.

As soon as you find a Queen cell containing an egg I strongly suggest you carry out an "artificial swarm procedure" meaning you need to have a spare empty hive standing by.

You could try pinching-out loaded Q cells but once they've decided to swarm they'll succeed in hiding one that you'll miss.

This is far easier than faffing around trying to trap them after they've swarmed.

read up on "Artificial swarm" procedure so you're fully prepared for the inevitable (and don't put off that weekly inspection for any reason!

 

[poshpikey]

Replace your queens when they get to two years old.

 

[VEG]

Some swarm in the first year

 

[itma]

... and as for supers i have plenty made up and ready to go ...

Full of drawn comb, not just foundation?

 

[richardbees]

Foundation is ok -

 

[REDWOOD]

Don't waste your money buying books as the is lots of info on the net, here is one good bit of info http://www.wbka.com/pdf/a012queencells.pdf

 

[itma]

Foundation is ok -

... once it is drawn!

As reading this forum will evidence, many report swarm behaviour following any hesitation in the bees 'going up'.
New frames, foundation and box is one recipe for such hesitation.

 

[susbees]

Some swarm in the first year

About 1 in 15 is quoted...

 

[VEG]

A lot more than that I think especially carni's

 

[itma]

Don't waste your money buying books as the is lots of info on the net, here is one good bit of info http://www.wbka.com/pdf/a012queencells.pdf

Get books out of your local library.
If there's any you value, *then* consider buying them.

There is quite a lot of nonsense on the net.
But that WBKA document is excellent.

 

[richardbees]

the above wbka article is top notch.....I especially like this bit:

Swarming can also occur early for no reason that is apparent
to the beekeeper.

 

[mbc]

the above wbka article is top notch.....

Does nobody else think its a bit poor when it comes to advice on AS, (go and look it up in a proper book !)

 

[moo]

I'm a big fan of books, but with beekeeping some things like AS are prob best seen in a hands on demo... Someone in your local association will gladly take the time to shuffle a few boxes about on a table to get you comprehending it
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[Andrewdale]

Hey Peeps once again im here looking to gleen some more info from this most fantastic wealth of knowledge,
Swarming and prevention methods is there a best way to prevent your bees swarming in the first place if so what is it and how do you bring it into effect up to now i have bought swarm attractant and plan to set a series of Nucs and skeps in various places within a mile of my vicinity in the hopes that when my bees do swarm i may an its a big may catch them again , am i barking up the wrong tree here or am i heading sort of in the right direction?? Help much appreciated .

I think artificial swarm is the best solution, if you have never done one before there is an excellent video on beekeeping online's forum in their swarm section.