Trouble finding the queen!

[Alleree]

Hi
i'm a new beekeeper (8 weeks) and my bees have swarmed 4 times in the last week, luckily rehived from the holly tree in the garden. I have tried splitting the colony and have removed all but one queen cells from the part where I think I removed the queen from but I have a real problem checking frames and finding a queen. This means i may have moved A queen rather than THE queen. I was away last week and queen cells appeared while i was away despite regular inspections.
Swarming is a real problem as neighbours and passers by are not happy!

 

[plumberman]

Alleree

I think you probably need a bit of help with your bees initially if you are having the problems you describe: Have you joined a local association or made any contact with other beekeepers? If you do, then since we are a generally friendly lot there will almost certainly be somebody who would be happy to come and look at your hive for you.

 

[Alleree]

Yes I've been a club for over a year before getting the bees and talked about my problem at the meeting this week but everyone seems quite happy with their bees swarming - a lot of pople have had swarms lately.

 

[drstitson]

when you say rehived do you mean you put the swarm back in hive it came from?

swarm (with old queen) should be housed in new hive.

old hive (now queenless) should be allowed to raise best QC (or split into two or three nucs, each with one - or perhaps two - QCs).

 

[Alleree]

There are no experienced beekeepers living near me.

 

[Alleree]

My husband put them back in the old hive as I was not there but I later found the (a) queen and put her in a new hive with a frame of brood and a feeder, but the other bees haven't followed her. now i have two confused hives of bees and the next hive will be a cardboard box!

 

[Alleree]

I followed the instructions for an artificial swarm.

 

[drstitson]

did you put the "new" hive on the site of the original and put the old hive elsewhere? that way the foragers return to the new hive with the queen.

 

[Alleree]

Yes i followed the instructions in hooper, with the queen I found in the rehived old hive in a new brood box on the original site and the old brood box about 4ft away to the right with room to move it to the left after a week. but i think there muist still be a queen in the old hive as they went again yesterday but I couldn't find one this morning. (and they're pretty irate about being disturbed again!) could see no new eggs in either hive.

 

[oliver90owner]

You have a PM

 

[unclesteen]

Alleree

This is a difficult problem to sort from a distance. Understandably, you seem to be in a bit of a panic. If I may suggest that, rather than keep going in and out of the hives and further annoying the bees and upsetting yourself you let everything settle for a day or two and durring that time get in contact with and ask one of your association members if they would mind coming over to help. Beekeepers really do like to help if they can.

 

[Alleree]

Pm ???

 

[drstitson]

PM - private message

 

[Alleree]

What's a PM?

 

[garethbryson]

Pm ???

Private message!!!! Look at the top right of your page and below where it says your name you will see private messages and it should say that you have one unread.

 

[drstitson]

"Look at the top right of your page and below where it says your name you will see private messages and it should say that you have one unread."

OP knows about the PM system - just didn't know they were called PMs.

 

[Alleree]

You have a PM

Thank you all for help in a panic! Had trouble navigating a simple website!!! I have contacted the club and hopefully someone will be able to give practical support.

 

[victor meldrew]

"Look at the top right of your page and below where it says your name you will see private messages and it should say that you have one unread."

OP knows about the PM system - just didn't know they were called PMs.

This OP fella knows everything and is appearing in myriad threads . Er! who is he?

VM

 

[Arfermo]

Hi
i'm a new beekeeper (8 weeks) and my bees have swarmed 4 times in the last week, luckily rehived from the holly tree in the garden. I have tried splitting the colony and have removed all but one queen cells from the part where I think I removed the queen from but I have a real problem checking frames and finding a queen. This means i may have moved A queen rather than THE queen. I was away last week and queen cells appeared while i was away despite regular inspections.
Swarming is a real problem as neighbours and passers by are not happy!

There are various methods for controlling swarming, the best in my opinion being clipping the queen as then the swarming retinue goes back where it came from without offending neighbours and also returns with all the honey that was taken to sustain the swarm in a new location. Win win!! The queen has already been superseded so she is already redundant and in fact the colony might not survive ina a new location anyway if the best it can do is go feral.
As for queen finding, often a problem in a large colony as is usually the case at this point in the season. However, certainty can be assured if one shakes all the bees into an empty box and puts the frames in yet another B/B. The queen will eventually be found with the shaken bees or in the old box or on a frame about to be shaken. Can't hide for ever. Must be done in reasonable weather of course.

 

[drstitson]

all i know is that OP ISN'T O2O, VM or PH - i can't imagine even them posting bolshie replies to their own posts!!!!