What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Moobee]

Kirsten Trayor -- Reading a Hive from the National Honey Show. Her take on shook swarm.
Start at timeline around 45:18

I have a slight problem with the idea that a shook swarm is evil on this forum. Just the mention of the phrase can garner some pretty strong words.

I have done them and they work fine. You do not discard the brood and stores, you use them to make nucs or, or give to another colony. Yes it sets back a thriving colony but that is the point, to prevent swarming, it also gives you great timing for a zap to the mites. It works wonders in getting new fresh comb but you can leave drawn frames so that the queen starts laying immediately and the set back is minimal.

FYI Kirsten Traynor is not a "less than thinking beekeeper", nor is she a raving lunatic.

Done properly I fail to see the harm done between a shook swarm and a swarm.

I’m at a loss to understand why people think this is a good thing for the bees. You’re not working with them and their natural instincts and they have to work incredibly hard just to get back to a normal balanced colony.

 

[Moobee]

Im out in the garden and for the 5 night running the hives are humming - I checked one recently transferred nuc from 4 days ago(today)and the super I added at the same time has 4/5 central frames being capped so I moved them from the centre and added another super I’ll be demarreing them sometime this next week.

I love that sound. I walk past my hives to go to the greenhouse and when I went to shut the vents last night, there was a lovely contented humming.

 

[madasafish]

I’m at a loss to understand why people think this is a good thing for the bees. You’re not working with them and their natural instincts and they have to work incredibly hard just to get back to a normal balanced colony.

Never done a shook swarm in my life..
And yet my bees produce double the BBKA quoted average hive honey yields. (despite our weather )

I must be doing something wrong.

 

[Curly green finger's]

I love that sound. I walk past my hives to go to the greenhouse and when I went to shut the vents last night, there was a lovely contented humming.

 

[E&MBees]

Visited the other apiary this morning, weather cool and breezy but bees very well behaved given conditions. Removed excess qc’s from a split last week. The nuc’d queen is laying well so added more space. The other colony is ticking along nicely. This is an unknown queen having usurped the resident one last summer. So far I’m pretty happy with her performance.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Never done a shook swarm in my life..
And yet my bees produce double the BBKA quoted average hive honey yields. (despite our weather )

I must be doing something wrong.

Ignoring BBKA 'advice' probably

 

[Moobee]

Never done a shook swarm in my life..
And yet my bees produce double the BBKA quoted average hive honey yields. (despite our weather )

I must be doing something wrong.

Funny that. Bees not wasting energy and honey making loads more wax….

 

[Do224]

Are these swarms you got?
Any disease?
Replace the queens?

I’d check for disease and if there was none I would replace the queens.

Yes they were originally swarms in 2022. One swarmed last year and requeened. The other superseded their queen last year.

Both had autumn and winter vaped. Only obvious issue is some chalk brood.

I’ll aim to requeen then if they’re a lost cause

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes they were originally swarms in 2022

So the queens could well be quite old. Yes replace them.

 

[Do224]

So the queens could well be quite old. Yes replace them.

No, both are 2023 queens. They were originally swarms caught in 2022. Then the below happened…

“One swarmed last year and requeened. The other superseded their queen last year.”

 

[Erichalfbee]

No, both are 2023 queens. They were originally swarms caught in 2022. Then the below happened…

“One swarmed last year and requeened. The other superseded their queen last year.”

Ah. We’ve been talking about poor supersedures.

 

[Vanterrier]

17 days after a successful split to increase I did the first thorough inspection of both nuc and donor hive.
Both are doing well with BIAS and stores aplenty. At the last quick (due to weather) inspection 7 days ago I decided to add a super to the hive and am glad I did. All frames are drawn and filled and around half is capped. Today I added a second super below the full one. As this is the first time I've even seen capped stores I only have fresh foundation on new frames.
The nuc was full, all frames covered by either nectar (uncapped) or BIAS with lots of bees on each frame and foragers coming and going at a tremendous rate.
So... do I move them to a dummied down bb with say 8 frames or is it too early and should I just let them be?
Everything felt good today
K

 

[The Poot]

17 days after a successful split to increase I dis the first thorough inspection of both nuc and donor hive.
Both are doing well with BIAS and stores aplenty. At the last quick (due to weather) inspection 7 days ago I decided to add a super to the hive and am glad I did. All frames are drawn and filled and around half is capped. Today I added a second super below the full one. As this is the first time I've even seen capped stores I only have fresh foundation on new frames.
The nuc was full, all frames covered by either nectar (uncapped) or BIAS with lots of bees on each frame and foragers coming and going at a tremendous rate.
So... do I move them to a dummied down bb with say 8 frames or is it too early and should I just let them be?
Everything felt good today
K

I’d give them the brood box.

 

[Vanterrier]

How soon? And how many frames?
K

 

[The Poot]

Straight away. (I’d probably leave until the morning).

 

[pargyle]

Just wandered down to the bees in the rain to see some very miserable looking bees peering out of the entrances and venturing out on to the landing boards - a lot different to this time yesterday when they were still flying like mad. Not a great looking week weatherwise at present and with the horse chestnut and sycamores in full bloom, hawthorn still going and lots of spring flowers that's not great for a spring harvest ...

 

[Moobee]

Just wandered down to the bees in the rain to see some very miserable looking bees peering out of the entrances and venturing out on to the landing boards - a lot different to this time yesterday when they were still flying like mad. Not a great looking week weatherwise at present and with the horse chestnut and sycamores in full bloom, hawthorn still going and lots of spring flowers that's not great for a spring harvest ...

Thought it was looking ok this week apart from Thursday? Sunshine & showers, but mostly sunshine (if the weather guessologists are anything to go by!)

 

[Mint Bee]

Bramble starting to flower. feels early

 

[pargyle]

Thought it was looking ok this week apart from Thursday? Sunshine & showers, but mostly sunshine (if the weather guessologists are anything to go by!)

Rain tomorrow, bit of sun/cloud Wednesday, rain Thursday - mist and cloud Friday ... Saturday light rain showers, Sunday light rain showers ...

My bees are pretty hardy and will fly if it's at all possible - Temps 17/18/19 degrees all week so that's not too bad. With the rain the nectar will flow if they can get at it. Not a great week for the bees but the veg patch, garden (and the weeds) will love it !

 

[Vanterrier]

Straight away. (I’d probably leave until the morning).

Done

Also from another thread, I checkerboarded the full and new Nuc on the original colony

Leave them for a week or so now

K