Treating a swarm

[Black Comb]

What are your thoughts on treating all swarms collected?

With oxalic acid as there is no brood to kill.

If so, when is the best time to do this?

Looking forward to some good advice.

 

[the naked beekeeper]

If bees have swarmed then they will have had to be in at least a good enough condition to do that.

If you are concerned then, use a drawer in an OMF and work out how 'bad' they are that way.

 

[Haughton Honey]

Assuming that they will be drawing fresh comb then the main burden will have been left behind when they swarmed (i.e. mites in the brood).

ApiGuard treatment to knock any mites directly off the bees might be more appropriate than Oxalic if the mean temperatures are above 15c

 

[Rosti]

I only have the experience of capturing one swarm (2009 via a bait hive). In that instance the advice I followed was to treat with oxalic as soon as I could while there was no brood and hence a good chance of effective treatment. The colony built strongly and quickly after treatment and showed minimal mite drop by autumn.

Treatment comes with a degree of risk so I guess your answer is:
If the swarm will be isolated from your other hives (and by definition is a bonus colony) monitor and treat if required. If the swarm will immediately become part of your core stock, treat first, check later.

I have laid 2 baits hives this year, both remote to my apiary. I will treat with oxalic before there is brood and before I move them to the apairy.

 

[tkwinston4]

Is it normal practice to keep a bait hive near your apiary should the worst happen?

 

[Rosti]

Can place as a defencive stragegy at / close to apiary site (and I have done that as well). But with regard the original question of treatment you are still left with a decision on whether you know the providence of the bees swarm that has arrived. If you do you can decide on treatment tactics with that in mind. If you dont then I think I would always treat while I did not have brood.

Going into winter you effectively attempt to treat with minimal brood present to maximise effect. A broodless swarm is the ultimate opportunity for an effective dose. As previously posted I would balance the risks, how important is the swarm to me /how disappointed would I be if the treatment caused the loss of the queen / colony

 

[Midland Beek]

With oxalic acid as there is no brood to kill.

Not sure what you are on about, but oxalic acid in sugar syrup dribble does not kill brood.

Lactic acid in water is the correct way to treat bees which are broodless, and that includes a swarm.

Trickling oxalic acid is something you do during winter and when the bees are clustering. Gets all over bees, kills mites type of thing.

 

[MuswellMetro]

Is it normal practice to keep a bait hive near your apiary should the worst happen?

Bait hives at the edge of your own hives catch your neighbours bees attreacted by bee pheromnes from your apiary, to catch the swarms from your own hives then the bait hive needs to be about 250 yds away -

 

[grizzly]

Why not spray them with thymol syrup mix. Not as harsh as oxalic can be.

 

[Rosti]

Bait hives at the edge of your own hives catch your neighbours bees attreacted by bee pheromnes from your apiary, to catch the swarms from your own hives then the bait hive needs to be about 250 yds away -

Nice summary, have mine placed 300m away simply because I had access to that location, thought natural instinct would be to attempt to move away from their origin, didn't think about the dynamics of defending 'your' swarm against 'attracting' another.