Took eye off the ball or just swarmy bees

[moby]

One hive has been a complete nightmare this season (as well as being the most productive/proilific)

H1 - Shook swarm/ bailey change in April - Found queen and marked and clipped

H1 - Found another queen marked and clipped no sign of the earlier one I had marked - assume supecedure / apis mellifera ninja???

H1- Queen cells found in May - split hive destroyed all but 2 QC made a nuc (H1a)

H1 -Queen cells in early June – Artificial Swarm(H1b) found another queen unmarked???

H1a -Queenless nuc from May split (Test frame positive for emergency QC) - reunited with (H1) original to save dwindling numbers???
H1b - Late July – from AS in June now no laying queen in both hives (H1&H1b)????

H1b United with original hive H1 after another test frame produced emergency queen cell???

All back to H1 - August – Found new Queen laying

Yesterday – Queen cells found

 

[Busybee123]

Got to laugh!

Otherwise what's the alternative?

This is my first year. I started off with 2 nucs and had so much trouble with one of them I thought I was going to lose it so I bought a third. Now the one I thought I was going to lose is doing well and the other two both started building queen cells within the last week or so for whatever reason (which they haven't bothered to tell me!)

I had a look yesterday and one of them has 4 queen cells in - two are in the middle of the comb near the top of a frame, the other two are at the bottom left hand corner of a frame. So is it supercedure or swarming?

I'm going to let them decide.....they know a lot more about being bees than I do.

 

[BBG]

H1

Maybe enough time to buy one of Hivemaker's mated Queens and bring some peace to the apiary.

 

[Rich0909]

How many QC's and in what position on the frames, if only a few may just be supercedure attempt as new queen not producing full queen substance output yet? I had this a few weeks ago and on Hivemaker & RAB's advice removed the QC's, two weeks later they made one more on an outside frame but then tore it down later. All settled down for now...

 

[moby]

How many QC's and in what position on the frames, ..

All QC's found were on the bottom of the combs at one point I found 8 open and with eggs & larvae all on one frame, I cant say that this one has been pleasurable compared to my other hives

 

[Busybee123]

Moby, they really have been awkward little sods haven't they!

My bees have been doing my head in and I'm trying to maintain a sense of humour about it. I've been wondering lately why on earth I ever thought keeping bees would be a good idea, but I like a challenge.

Anyway, it sounds like yours are determined to swarm again.

I guess you'll have to do an AS, but it's getting on in the season now to be doing that (which is why I'm taking the risk and hoping that mine are going to supercede - hopefully I can catch them if they do swarm ).

I'm no expert, but you could do an AS now and then reunite later if they are not strong enough before winter. Maybe you should consider requeening with a queen from a less swarmy strain.

 

[moby]

Had another look yesterday evening much to their disgust and knocked down the QC's it seems like the hive is split in 2 first 3/4 frames eggs and developing larvae then pollen stores nectar and capped honey then the last 2 frames sealed brood and some open ready to be capped on these I found the QC's.... possibly they thought they had run out of space??? but I have found the makings of queen cups on the top of the second frame so swarm or supercedure...... no sign of the queen though...

If ever there was a colony that would make me consider packing it in is this one....

I think a requeen is on the cards for this lot...
Anybody know where I can get one of a placid strain this late in the day?

 

[sandysman]

I would contact Hivemaker.

Andy