Thinking ahead to Spring - and swarming...

[Mel]

Ten years on and I still occasionally panic when they start swarming! My solution is to take a deep breath and re-read the Welsh Beekeeping Association booklet "There are Queen Cells In My Hive - What Should I Do?" http://www.wbka.com/pdf/a012queencells.pdf

It's mentioned here from time to time, but if there are any newer beekeepers who haven't come across it, do read it. It possibly (hopefully!) won't tell you anything you haven't been told in beekeeping classes, but it is all in one place, very well laid out, and wonderfully reassuring.

I'm off to re-read it again - and make a firm plan for making sure all my queens are marked this year, which makes dealing with swarms a lot easier. And hope Spring really does come at some point.

Mel

 

[Ely]

Thanks for the link

Sent from my XT615 using Tapatalk 2

 

[enrico]

Well said, the Wbka leaflets are some of the best around and really helpful when you are in panic mode!

 

[Finman]

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Link above was good.

This is good too


Google: Swarming-It's prevention & control - University of Delaware

 

[steve_e]

Thanks very much for both those links, Mel and Finman - I had terrible trouble with swarming last year so I'm steeling myself to be on top of it this year!

 

[Finman]

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Swarming becomes terrible if you try to break swarming cells.

When you see jelly in queen cells, it is better to do false swarm at once.

I you cut wing of queens, it helps really much.

.

 

[Bitbybit]

Thanks Mel,
Excellent info thats clearly presented

 

[Russel]

Ten years on and I still occasionally panic when they start swarming! My solution is to take a deep breath and re-read the Welsh Beekeeping Association booklet "There are Queen Cells In My Hive - What Should I Do?" http://www.wbka.com/pdf/a012queencells.pdf

It's mentioned here from time to time, but if there are any newer beekeepers who haven't come across it, do read it. It possibly (hopefully!) won't tell you anything you haven't been told in beekeeping classes, but it is all in one place, very well laid out, and wonderfully reassuring.

I'm off to re-read it again - and make a firm plan for making sure all my queens are marked this year, which makes dealing with swarms a lot easier. And hope Spring really does come at some point.

Mel

The Welsh Govt provide 4 "guides" foc, not sure if they will send outside Wales but worth a try.
Welsh government publications search for bees.

1. Beekeeping - making increase
2. Feeding bees
3. Comb management
4. There are queen cells in my hive - what should I do?

Russ

 

[Dusty Rhodes]

Thank you, Mel and Finman.


Two seriously helpful documents. Reassuring to have clear and focused information.


Dusty

 

[BeeJayBee]

Here's a list of wbka docs with pdf links http://www.wbka.com/infostation.html

 

[whoosling]

Thanks Mel and Finman I shall read both suggestions

 

[Alan and Anthea]

Thanks Mel
Best I have read yet
Alan

 

[Walrus]

This is good too, IMO, because it shows the clues that the bees are preparing to swarm several weeks before they charge QCs (reproductive swarm):

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm

Better to see the signs and intervene before QCs are begun, although nothing is ever 100% certain


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[Finman]

This is good too, IMO, because it shows the clues that the bees are preparing to swarm several weeks before they charge QCs (reproductive swarm):

http://www.bushfarms.com/beesswarmcontrol.htm

Don't do this, that you put a frame without foundation.
At that time bees love to make drone combs.
Natural combs, one kind of humbug.
.
Michael Bush claims that colonies make same about brood combs to hives, even if you use foundations. But that is false.
In nauture a colony may do 25% of combs drones and that is a catastrophe to the hive. That is not beekeeping.

 

[Finman]

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First of all, you should have a bee strain which is not eager to swarm.

Main reason why I keep Italians is that they are slower to swarm than Carniolans.

My friend has a 8 hives yard and she lost her swarm every year very badly. Every hive swarms and most of them goes to the to of trees.

I started to help and the procedure is:

- clip queen wing in spring inspection
- make false swarms at once when you see queen cells
- if you long time away from hives during swarming time, make a false swarm before you leave
- remember join brood and swarm parts in time to get yield.

If you loose a swarm, you loose the yield

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[Les]

Finman
When you join the bees back together after you have ‘false swarmed’ do you keep your original queen or do you give the new queen a time to see how she is performing?

 

[fiftyjon]

.
First of all, you should have a bee strain which is not eager to swarm.

Main reason why I keep Italians is that they are slower to swarm than Carniolans.

My friend has a 8 hives yard and she lost her swarm every year very badly. Every hive swarms and most of them goes to the to of trees.

I started to help and the procedure is:

- clip queen wing in spring inspection
- make false swarms at once when you see queen cells
- if you long time away from hives during swarming time, make a false swarm before you leave
- remember join brood and swarm parts in time to get yield.

If you loose a swarm, you loose the yield

.

I have a beekeeping friend that when they see swarm cells in their colonies sees a different sort of crop. They split the colony down to nucs and then sell them instead of a honey crop, keeping one back to build up for next year for the colony broken down.

 

[Finman]

Finman
When you join the bees back together after you have ‘false swarmed’ do you keep your original queen or do you give the new queen a time to see how she is performing?

I keep the new queen because hive is not earger to swarm any more with new queen.

It is same what she performs. I have time to change it during summer.

But to keep finally the swarming queen means swarming next year for sure.


Later in summer I look what hive is good to rear better queens. I rear them in swarming hive and I change the larvae in queen cells.

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