Totally gutted

[beeno]

Management is key but the OP is lacking of experience in this area. I think that if you don't want to be demoralised by beekeeping through learning the hard way from the offset, you want to minimise risks. There is also the issue of temper with swarms, you don't know what you get so it is another issue to consider. Still at least they didn't abscond with £50-80 bought in queens!!!

I have 2 hived swarms in my apiary which I plan to use next year as cell raisers and split into nucs to make increase keeping my better stock for production.

Some on the forum has had very bad experiences re. swarming and temper from bought in queens.

 

[Beefriendly]

As always choose your queen breeder with the utmost care.
There are some who are nothing but wholesalers and the quilty iof the queens suffers. But I've never had a bought in a queen that was as bad as the local bees in my area.

 

[bingevader]

They live on a farm, I imagine in the country, away from any neighbours.
They have caught each swarm that has flown.
I don't see why this isn't considered swarm management!
Unless you are re-queening from reputable stock each year a natural swarm is a perfectly valid way to raise a new colony, especially if you know it is from one of your own hives.
In the swarm season everyone is delighted to catch as many as they can.
If something then goes wrong, it's all the fault of the swarm.
Maybe they were a duff lot, but I know the last few years have been difficult for us too.
Maybe it's mismanagement, maybe Millet will enlighten us.
And for the record, I try to practice pre-emptive swarm control, but it's invariably reactive involving some kind of split.

 

[jeff33]

Beekeeping often seems to be reactive rather than pre-emptive, the only guaranty you get is that they will do something you don't expect!! ��

 

[Erichalfbee]

Beekeeping often seems to be reactive rather than pre-emptive,

That's why, having tried it for the first time this year, I like the Demarree.
I kept one going for two and a half months and they gave me lots of honey and no swarming.

 

[jeff33]

I didn't have to do any this year as I kept splitting to increase. I am contemplating swapping my Carnolian to commercial hive but its not ideal for demaree.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I managed in a 14x12....well, not me. Stan did the lifting.
We abandoned it after we ended up with two supers on top of the upper brood

 

[Millet]

They live on a farm, I imagine in the country, away from any neighbours.
They have caught each swarm that has flown.
I don't see why this isn't considered swarm management!
Unless you are re-queening from reputable stock each year a natural swarm is a perfectly valid way to raise a new colony, especially if you know it is from one of your own hives.
In the swarm season everyone is delighted to catch as many as they can.
If something then goes wrong, it's all the fault of the swarm.
Maybe they were a duff lot, but I know the last few years have been difficult for us too.
Maybe it's mismanagement, maybe Millet will enlighten us.
And for the record, I try to practice pre-emptive swarm control, but it's invariably reactive involving some kind of split.

Nope i will not... even if i was to be in contact with the OP it would not be my business to post information on here..

 

[jeff33]

I managed in a 14x12....well, not me. Stan did the lifting.
We abandoned it after we ended up with two supers on top of the upper brood

You have done well with this hive Erica.

 

[For want of a better word]

Possibly the hives have been put in the wrong place.????

Millet and Beef will have a field day... but have you considered dowsing out the bee(lay) lines and putting the colonies where they intersect... in a sunny, sheltered position away from dripping trees... with good access of course????

Dowsed out some lost mole traps for one of my farmer friends yesterday.... interesting that the moles seem to follow lays in their search for worms!

Yeghes da

 

[bingevader]

Nope i will not... even if i was to be in contact with the OP it would not be my business to post information on here..

I did think that as I wrote.

 

[Millet]

I did think that as I wrote.

 

[Erichalfbee]

You have done well with this hive Erica.

Yes I am so pleased with it.
It’s the one that ended up with 8 supers on it. They didn’t fill the top one but drew it all.
To top it all amazingly it has little varroa

 

[ScottpaulA]

Thank you

How gratifying to get so many replies from my initial question - to respond to some of the points made:-
1. The first swarm was taken from the Scottish Borders from my brother's successful hives - though his bees were lively and fairly vicious the swarm that we brought down to North Yorks was not. In August of 2017 they swarmed and located the bees but unfortunately before we got kitted out they disappeared - we have many old trees etc around us and I suspect that they found a welcome home - the remaining bees survived the winter - we fed them syrup and fondant.
2 In May they were very active bringing supplies in and in late June we had another swarm in the apple tree near to the hive - we managed to collect the bees and we put them in the brood box of another hive - sited next to the original hive.
3.Throughout the summer both hives seemed very active - m,y husband checked them regularly but he had no success in getting the bees from the original hive up into The Super - he tried everything - to no avail
4.At the beginning of Septembver there was quite a lot of activity with both the hives - we thought that there was a chance of them swarming - we kept an eye on them and saw nothing untowards until suddenly there was no activity from either of the hives - a lot of wasps around the openings and when we opened the hives up all the bees had gone -
Obviously we were so disappointed that we had lost them but, more importantly, we want to know why they left this tranquil place - realize that we need to understand the basics and it is going to be necessary to join an Association before we attempt to keep any more - thank you so much for all your comments, advice etc.

 

[Millet]

How gratifying to get so many replies from my initial question - to respond to some of the points made:-
1. The first swarm was taken from the Scottish Borders from my brother's successful hives - though his bees were lively and fairly vicious the swarm that we brought down to North Yorks was not. In August of 2017 they swarmed and located the bees but unfortunately before we got kitted out they disappeared - we have many old trees etc around us and I suspect that they found a welcome home - the remaining bees survived the winter - we fed them syrup and fondant.
2 In May they were very active bringing supplies in and in late June we had another swarm in the apple tree near to the hive - we managed to collect the bees and we put them in the brood box of another hive - sited next to the original hive.
3.Throughout the summer both hives seemed very active - m,y husband checked them regularly but he had no success in getting the bees from the original hive up into The Super - he tried everything - to no avail
4.At the beginning of Septembver there was quite a lot of activity with both the hives - we thought that there was a chance of them swarming - we kept an eye on them and saw nothing untowards until suddenly there was no activity from either of the hives - a lot of wasps around the openings and when we opened the hives up all the bees had gone -
Obviously we were so disappointed that we had lost them but, more importantly, we want to know why they left this tranquil place - realize that we need to understand the basics and it is going to be necessary to join an Association before we attempt to keep any more - thank you so much for all your comments, advice etc.

I offered to come and see and Beefriendy also offered help ..we got no response so time out from thee.. good luck..

 

[ScottpaulA]

Apologies for my rudeness in not responding directly to your thread - I had been away from my computer and not checking the Bee Forum as I should have - I certainly did not intend to offend you - my husband has lost heart following the bees absconement and I am trying to ressurect it - today I opened up the Brood Box again and took some photographs of the frames - they do not look normal to me???? If I can work out how to upload the photos from my phone I would appreciate any comments you might have on their state. Thank you and sorry again if I have been discourteous to you and your colleagues. Catherine

 

[Beefriendly]

If you and your husband would like to pop along for a chat I will be at Masham Farmers Market on Sunday7th of October from around 7am to 2pm. Look for the stall with a Bee on a Bike It usually quite a quiet market so plenty of time to chat. It's our last market at Masham until next March.

I'm not sure how pictures of brood frames from an empty hive will be of help. It's understanding why they absconded...a swarm often does. How they were inspected...the activity you saw may have been robbing an empty hive by other bees.
And of course, the terminology used can be confusing when just starting out.
It can often be something simple.
Too difficult to ask all the questions on a forum.

 

[ScottpaulA]

How irritating that I did not make contact sooner - unfortunately we are away for two weeks from the 6th October - especially annoying as I own Bordar House Teas in the Market Place, I am usually working there on The Farmers Market Days though I always find time to look around the Market - if only I had known earlier......are your frames chocolately brown? Still have not fathomed out how to upload onto here the photos I took. Are all the Markets elsewhere finishing in October too? Catherine

 

[Beefriendly]

especially annoying as I own Bordar House Teas in the Market Place, I am usually working there on The Farmers Market Days

Extreme Irony....Millet often pops along for a chat and I've been there every Farmers Market.

We stand just opposite you and most of our stallholders get their breakfast and mugs of tea from you.
You might know Nigel the game dealer...no longer attends the market these days, or Nigel the market manager who always has his breakfast there. And to add to the Nigel's I am another one.
It's just Masham that finishes next month...and we might not be back. The Sunday Farmers Market was meant to be just that. A few of the other Saturday marketers asked if they could join in...alas it has now become a fiasco with far too many stalls for the customer base, and most are what we class as "tat"; plastic flower sellers, crayoning books, second-hand CD's etc.
Not what a Farmer's market is about.
It has ended with us saying we either come back next years on our own terms or we don't come back.
I hope we are back as it's one of the nicest marketplaces in Yorkshire.

 

[ScottpaulA]

I totally agree with you with regards to the other hangers-on at the Sunday Market - had a long chat with Nigel last month about the predicament you are all in - I had attended the last Parish Council Meeting when it was stated that no other food stalls should be allowed to stand when you were there - the next council meeting is on the 1st of October and I will go along again and voice the concern that you may not return as a result of the other stalls unconnected with the local producers. BTW Nigel - the Game Dealer is my son's Father-in-law - small world isn;t it? Catherine