Swarming?

[Will Kevans]

Yes .. what;'s on the frames you move plus, if in doubt, another cupful.

Roger, Im going in!

 

[pargyle]

Roger, Im going in!

Good luck ... don't worry too much - the bees have a habit of correcting anything the beekeeper does wrong ... they are surprisingly resilient !

 

[Will Kevans]

Good luck ... don't worry too much - the bees have a habit of correcting anything the beekeeper does wrong ... they are surprisingly resilient !

I'm surprised at my own resilience tbh! At least I've recovered from my 12 bee stings!

 

[Beegarden]

No offence, but you have taken up a hobby which requires you to care for a colony of animals. You shouldn't be doing this without making some effort to learn about them, and I don't mean just asking questions on internet forums when the sh*t hits the fan. The lifecycle of bees, including how long they spend in cells before they emerge, what queen cells look like, and how swarming works, is absolutely basic, fundamental knowledge that you should have before even ordering a hive. Buy books. Read them. Make notes. Go on a course (a proper one, not a one day "bee experience"). Learn about these animals properly.

EDIT - I appreciate that this is the beginner's forum, and I apologise if the above seems harsh. It was written in as restrained a manner as possible, and is meant to be constructive, but if a moderator feels it isn't suitable, please delete it.

I have to agree with Boston Bees. The Winter before getting my bees, I read several books cover to cover and attended a theoretical six week course. Unfortunately the practical didn't start until after most new beekeepers have collected their nucs (this was timed so by NNBKA). Even with some knowledge and imagined confidence, those first forays live on one's own can be daunting - (a bit like feeding a newborn in the middle of the night, which some of you may appreciate ). It's a little late now, Will, but why not order a couple of books from Amazon UK and spend your evenings memorising. There will always be unusual situations, but it may add some confidence to your approach.

I was always taught to put one of the removed frames on top of the remaining frames, to help settle the bees. I now use covers/ clean, cotton pillowcases instead; it may be wimpy, but it must help keep pheromones and heat in.

All that AND Asian Hornets! Good luck.

 

[Will Kevans]

The deed is done, sink or swim hive separated queen cells cut. Video to follow, hopefully this will serve as a lesson of what not to do and a cautionary tale for other rookies such as myself!Have to say I had increased confidence today and the bees seemed less aggressive as I was a bit gentler with them.

 

[Will Kevans]

I have to agree with Boston Bees. The Winter before getting my bees, I read several books cover to cover and attended a theoretical six week course. Unfortunately the practical didn't start until after most new beekeepers have collected their nucs (this was timed so by NNBKA). Even with some knowledge and imagined confidence, those first forays live on one's own can be daunting - (a bit like feeding a newborn in the middle of the night, which some of you may appreciate ). It's a little late now, Will, but why not order a couple of books from Amazon UK and spend your evenings memorising. There will always be unusual situations, but it may add some confidence to your approach.

I was always taught to put one of the removed frames on top of the remaining frames, to help settle the bees. I now use covers/ clean, cotton pillowcases instead; it may be wimpy, but it must help keep pheromones and heat in.

All that AND Asian Hornets! Good luck.

Well I've been cram reading Haynes and watching endless youtube videos, usually when I've hit a crisis. Thankfully I seem to have learnt a few things from these mistakes.Yes I've had a young child, so I'm au fait with child rearing and I seem to remember lurching from crisis to crisis then also!Thankfully my ten year old seems to be ok so far although a tad leary!

 

[pargyle]

The deed is done, sink or swim hive separated queen cells cut. Video to follow, hopefully this will serve as a lesson of what not to do and a cautionary tale for other rookies such as myself!Have to say I had increased confidence today and the bees seemed less aggressive as I was a bit gentler with them.

What's the expression airline pilots use ? Any landing you walk away from is a successful on !!

Well done...

 

[Will Kevans]

What's the expression airline pilots use ? Any landing you walk away from is a successful on !!

Well done...

As an ex Paratrooper I concur!

 

[Will Kevans]

Not terribly exciting but here is my video of the split didn't film it all.Link here

 

[Boston Bees]

That new nuc needs a LOT more bees in it. Tipping a "cup" of bees in won't do anything as half of them will fly back to the original location. As I recommended, you want these two boxes to be on either side of the original location, so that flying bees have an even chance of entering either hive - this will balance the populations out.



If you can't do that, shake a LOT of bees into the nuc - just don't shake the frames with the queen cell on.

Several of those queen cells appeared to have emerged, based on this new footage. I think you may have lost several swarms, and as you say there may well be a virgin queen or two running around in there. Ho hum, you'll just have to wait a month and see what you have.

 

[Will Kevans]

That new nuc needs a LOT more bees in it. Tipping a "cup" of bees in won't do anything as half of them will fly back to the original location. As I recommended, you want these two boxes to be on either side of the original location, so that flying bees have an even chance of entering either hive - this will balance the populations out.

View attachment 31571

If you can't do that, shake a LOT of bees into the nuc - just don't shake the frames with the queen cell on.

Several of those queen cells appeared to have emerged, based on this new footage. I think you may have lost several swarms, and as you say there may well be a virgin queen or two running around in there. Ho hum, you'll just have to wait a month and see what you have.

Yes there did seem to be a lot of open Queen cells.Is the cell I selected for the nuc OK? I'll shake more bees in tomorrow and but the two hives together , with the entrance adjacent . will that work?

 

[Will Kevans]

Just saw the diagram, thanks will try and replicate that situation tomorrow.

 

[Will Kevans]

Yes there did seem to be a lot of open Queen cells.Is the cell I selected for the nuc OK? I'll shake more bees in tomorrow and but the two hives together , with the entrance adjacent . will that work?

Should I also remove my entrance reducer to promote a larger entrance on both boxes?

 

[Antipodes]

Yes there did seem to be a lot of open Queen cells.Is the cell I selected for the nuc OK? I'll shake more bees in tomorrow and but the two hives together , with the entrance adjacent . will that work?

Sometimes (at this late stage), workers, who have been guarding queen cells to stop the virgins (who are ready to pop out) from coming out of the cells (they kind of imprison them in there in case they need them later), get distracted when the hive is opened and the virgins seize the opportunity to escape from within the cell. This may have happened when you opened the hive after it swarmed. The cell you chose looks like it has been chewed at around the tip (1:13 to 1:16).

 

[Will Kevans]

Sometimes (at this late stage), workers, who have been guarding queen cells to stop the virgins (who are ready to pop out) from coming out of the cells (they kind of imprison them in there in case they need them later), get distracted when the hive is opened and the virgins seize the opportunity to escape from within the cell. This may have happened when you opened the hive after it swarmed. The cell you chose looks like it has been chewed at around the tip (1:13 to 1:16).

Is that good or bad? Does that mean I have a potential queen to hatch out in the new nuc?

 

[Will Kevans]

Is that good or bad? Does that mean I have a potential queen to hatch out in the new nuc?

Or have I selected a dud?

 

[Antipodes]

Is that good or bad?

It could be either. You'll need to wait on it now I'd say. From what I've seen here, the workers will sometimes chew at the end of the tip close to the time the queen is due to emerge, but I've also seen them do it where the larva inside has died and they are starting the process of cleaning out the dead larva.

 

[Will Kevans]

It could be either. You'll need to wait on it now I'd say. From what I've seen here, the workers will sometimes chew at the end of the tip close to the time the queen is due to emerge, but I've also seen them do it where the larva inside has died and they are starting the process of cleaning out the dead larva.

So its entirely possible that in all instances I've cut out healthy queen cells and left dead ones? Is it possible I've left two hives Queen less and what will happen if that is the case? I'm more than certain that the first hive should have a virgin Queen within as there are so many open Queen cells, I suppose it could also be true that they've swarmed off! Its all bloody complicated.

 

[Will Kevans]

So its entirely possible that in all instances I've cut out healthy queen cells and left dead ones? Is it possible I've left two hives Queen less and what will happen if that is the case? I'm more than certain that the first hive should have a virgin Queen within as there are so many open Queen cells, I suppose it could also be true that they've swarmed off! Its all bloody complicated.

So many questions!

 

[Antipodes]

So its entirely possible that in all instances I've cut out healthy queen cells and left dead ones? Is it possible I've left two hives Queen less and what will happen if that is the case? I'm more than certain that the first hive should have a virgin Queen within as there are so many open Queen cells, I suppose it could also be true that they've swarmed off! Its all bloody complicated.

It is quite tricky to be honest. There could certainly be a virgin in there somewhere. Hopefully the queen cell you have chosen is ok. It could have died (that might have happened if it got chilled for instance), but time will tell. No matter what, you have definitely not wasted your time with anything you have done as you will have learnt heaps.