Two questions

[ryan_220]

Alright got a swarm sunday now being 4 days on they have filled one frame with wax and started on another and she has started laying around 80-100 eggs
I have been feeding them golden surup what you get from the shop, as i have been waiting on an order came today lucky. But the golden surup u put on pan cakes its like rocket fuel for them in a good way as they have gone thought rapid build up looking good for them lasting the winter
Think i need to dust them though but time will tell on that.

Problem i have is that my first hive that i have had since April keeps trying to swam on me i have managed to stop this but i think i missed one or two i will put that done to me being new with very little help
I think it swarmed on Monday i saw the swam but it went over the lake so i couldnt get to them all not last thought as i cant really tell there are that meany bees gone. It didnt click that they where from my hive so i removed all the queen cells from that hive think this will stop them.

But now i cant find any eggs in there and i cant seem to locate the queen have i dont the wrong thing hear + there are two new emergency queen cells sprung up
I will have another look tomorrow but what if that fails what are my options ?

 

[Nopants]

Buy a new mated queen and put her in there if all else fails. You will have to watch what happens to the other queen cell once the first queen hatches you dont want another swarm

 

[jon]

It didnt click that they where from my hive so i removed all the queen cells from that hive think this will stop them.

But now i cant find any eggs in there and I cant seem to locate the queen

The old queen leaves with the prime swarm.
You removed all the queen cells so the colony will make emergency cells from grubs of a suitable age.

It is not ideal raising a new queen from emergency cells but you don't have much choice at this point.

I would pick the best queen cell, an open one where you can see the grub. Mark this one with a pin on the frame and remove all the others. Check again 8 days after the date the swarm left and remove any other emergency cells which have appeared.
If you want a backup you could remove a couple of frames with the adhering bees, one of which has a decent cell, and put them in a nuc.

Buying in a queen is not as straightforward as you might imagine. If you happen to have a virgin queen in your colony it will be killed on introduction.

 

[ryan_220]

Well after checking my hive today i have found a handful of queen cups and one capped true queen cell with 4 guard bees watching it. The cell is dark so i guess it cant be far off hatching now ?
This hive is still busy so looks normal but there is no queen as there an no eggs in it. I have started feeding them just to make it easyer on them i guess thats right ?

Is there anything i need to do or just sit back and wait ?

 

[VEG]

Can I ask why you are using treacle to feed your bees?

 

[ryan_220]

Can I ask why you are using treacle to feed your bees?

Its not treacle Veg its Syrup i was told to use it by an old boy just why i wait 1-2 days for my feeded to be delivered.

 

[Baggyone]

Could have popped down to the same shop you got the golden syrup from and just bought a couple of bags of silver spoon..................

 

[Poly Hive]

Which purchase (sugar) would be the safer option. I have never heard of Golden Syrup being fed to bees and suspect it is rather the expensive option.

PH

 

[VEG]

Golden syrup and treacle its the same thing. Just never heard of it being used instead of just plain sugar.

 

[Poly Hive]

Nope. Treacle is one item and Golden Syrup another. Treacle comes in a red tin and golden syrup in a green one with the famous quote about strength out of sweetness.

Setting that aside feeding straight sugar at a pound to a pint is the safer thing to do.

PH

 

[VEG]

Sorry but it is the same

As mentioned above, treacle is a by product of sugar refining. During the refining process, raw sugar cane is first crushed then boiled in stages until it has thickened sufficiently to facilitate the growing of sugar crystals which will eventually become refined sugar. There are two main types of treacle:-

Light Treacle better known as Golden Syrup (equivalent = Light Molasses), is made from the syrup obtained during the first boiling of the sugar cane/beets. About 65% sucrose, it is the lightest in colour and the sweetest of all the treacles and is usually unsulphered.



Black Treacle, (equivalent = dark molasses) is made from the syrup obtained from later boilings and is about 55% sucrose.

 

[Poly Hive]

Pologies but I was going by the tins. Regardless.

Pure refined sugar is the better option. By far.

PH

 

[victor meldrew]

Treacle /golden syrup are the same thing (I do cross words ).
'The red tin' contains 'Black treacle' , now that's entirely different .

John Wilkinson

 

[Poly Hive]

AhHa,

this is where I have obviously got confused. So Treacle and Golden Syrup pud are one and the same, but Black Treacle is another matter all together.

I see............ vaguely.

PH

 

[Baggyone]

Ted Hoopers - guide to bees and honey page 130
"bees should be fed with white granulated sugar mixed with water to make a syrup. Brown sugars or raw sugars should not be used as these are harmful to the bee."