Totally gutted

[ScottpaulA]

History - 3 years ago my husband was given a hive for his birthday - we are farmers - he bought bees from our local supplier - within one week the bees swarmed so he bought another hive but unfortunately he lost both hives - 2 Nd year we collected a swarm but again we lost the hive - last year we travelled to Scotland to collect a swarm from my brother ( we are in North Yorks) we fed the hive over the winter and the bees survived - the bees were very active over the early summer , we placed a Super but the bees did not go up into it though they were very active - in Juky they swarmed and we were able to collect and placed the bees in the second hive - throughout the summer both hives were active - however there was no activity in the Supers - we tried everything - putting fondant etc in the hive - two weeks ago the bees became very active - the hives are in a small orchard - lots of wasps around but we did not think that they were a problem - however , after a few days we noticed no activity at all and Help - both colonies have gone - how could we have prevented this?

 

[Beefriendly]

A few thoughts.
Join a local beekeeping association.
Your post about bees not going into supers suggests you may be giving a small colony too much space too soon. Which might be a reflection on your relative inexperience.
Not something to worry about, just something to overcome.
Wasp's create problems for weak hives and alas this may have been what occurred. You need to observe what is going on on a weekly basis. Bees are not something you can just leave alone to get on with it.
Learning how to prevent swarming, or at least manage it, will be a big step towards getting some decent strong colonies.

 

[ScottpaulA]

They seemed to be strong hives and we observed them daily - why do you think both colonies left their hives? When the first one swarmed there was a very active colony left - ? Was it late in the Season for them swarming? Will join a local beekeeping association - thank you for your thoughts

 

[Beefriendly]

They seemed to be strong hives and we observed them daily - why do you think both colonies left their hives? When the first one swarmed there was a very active colony left - ? Was it late in the Season for them swarming? Will join a local beekeeping association - thank you for your thoughts

Define what you think is a strong colony?
Most define it on frames of brood within a hive.
To me, a strong colony is between 16-18 National frames filled with brood around late June. For others, it can be 5 or 6 frames of brood.
Strong is a misleading adjective unless defined further.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

They seemed to be strong hives and we observed them daily

How often did you open up and inspect? what varroa treatment was given?

 

[Gilberdyke John]

It would be helpful to know which bit of North Yorkshire you are in as it's a big area. If youre within reach of Church Fenton the Barkston Ash Beekeeping Association meet in Church Fenton village hall and would welcome you. Paid up members are offered free theory training in the weeks following new year, followed by hands on practical training on Saturdays through the season at the association training Apiary close by.

 

[Millet]

Where about in North Yorkshire are you... i do a lot of Mole trapping for three farmers in the Leyburn area during winter and spring.. if you are within a sensible driving distance for me i could always pop in and see you when i am passing..

 

[olriley]

Total absconding is unusual. Keep your chins up and seek a mentor - maybe Millet or GJ are in range?

 

[ScottpaulA]

we are near Masham, my husband would be delighted for you to pop in - sometimes we need moles dealing with too - wish we had known of you before the bees absconded - our phone number is 01765689489 - any guidance for the future would be most welcome - thank you

 

[Beefriendly]

we are near Masham, my husband would be delighted for you to pop in - sometimes we need moles dealing with too - wish we had known of you before the bees absconded - our phone number is 01765689489 - any guidance for the future would be most welcome - thank you

Pop along to Masham Farmer's market on the 1st Sunday of the month. Look for the stall with a bee on bike. Happy to help.

 

[Millet]

we are near Masham, my husband would be delighted for you to pop in - sometimes we need moles dealing with too - wish we had known of you before the bees absconded - our phone number is 01765689489 - any guidance for the future would be most welcome - thank you

Masham is fine...a slight detour but i can live with that... can you PM me location i may be able to get there Sunday/Monday.

 

[ShinySideUp]

we are near Masham, my husband would be delighted for you to pop in - sometimes we need moles dealing with too - wish we had known of you before the bees absconded - our phone number is ********* - any guidance for the future would be most welcome - thank you

Just a kindly-intended thought: I wouldn't bandy your phone number about on the internet, we are a relatively harmless bunch here but you never know who's out there watching. Could be my paranoia but just because I'm paranoid doesn't mean they aren't out to get me!

 

[MartinL]

. . . . . . . . . . we observed them daily . . . . . . why do you think both colonies left their hives?

Do you mean you looked inside the colony every day?

Could be that they just went and found somewhere more suitable where they could just get on undisturbed?

When you say they were "strong" do you mean defensive?

I'd define a colonies strength by their production, not just the number or activity of the bees within it i.e. Brood, Stores & ability to fill frames.

Do you have any Nuc boxes? It may be better for the next time if you put any captured swarms in the more confined space initially.

Good luck for next season.

 

[jeff33]

Perhaps another thought as well as the useful ones above, avoid using swarms in your hives (they just swarm) or get stock of bees with a high tendency to swarm like Carnolians. We have some good queen breeders on this forum who might be able to sell you a nuc next season. Good luck

 

[beeno]

Perhaps another thought as well as the useful ones above, avoid using swarms in your hives (they just swarm) or get stock of bees with a high tendency to swarm like Carnolians. We have some good queen breeders on this forum who might be able to sell you a nuc next season. Good luck

All my colonies are from collected swarms and I have not got swarmy bees. I tend do think it is the management to a large extent.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I agree with Beeno,
All my hives are from swarms and in my 3 years at this lark I have only had one outgoing swarm which came from my first acquisition, a swarm from a fellow beek.
Management is the key.

 

[jeff33]

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.

 

[Beefriendly]

Management is key

The area you live in and the types of mongrel bees in your area is key.
The mongrels in my area are annual swarmers despite any attempts to manage them. Many excel at bi-annual swarming. Plus they are nasty vicious little critters, yet 20 miles up the road the local bees are as placid as my Buckfast...but still annual swarmers

 

[enrico]

Well done Millet, someone else's opinion is worth a bag of gold. A friendly voice and help is also encouraging. I would have given up before I even started if it hadn't been for a person like you who steered me I. The right direction

 

[jeff33]

I remember you saying this about your local mongrels BF, they sound like a pleasure to work with .....This re-enforces the gamble with swarms. I don't want to keep mine long enough to see if they are bi-annual swarmers!!!