What did you do in the Apiary today?

[Tom Jay]

Saw a fresh laid egg in a well developed play cup. Will do artificial swarm for them tomorrow or Wednesday as I am away for a long weekend.

Far too cold today to do my artificial swarm procedure! I'm out of the country tomorrow until Sunday night! So, I can artificial swarm them on the seventh day after seeing a fresh laid egg in a play cup. Is that going to be before the Lady chooses to vacate?? Help!

 

[B+.]

Far too cold today to do my artificial swarm procedure! I'm out of the country tomorrow until Sunday night! So, I can artificial swarm them on the seventh day after seeing a fresh laid egg in a play cup. Is that going to be before the Lady chooses to vacate?? Help!

On average, the queen emerges 16 days after the egg is laid. The fact that you saw an egg in a cup means that it wasn't yet day 4. 7+4=11 so you will still have a few days so long as there were no cells more advanced than the one you saw

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Ha ha Sadders...you will soon be like the rest of us...scrambling for equipment in the garden shed!
Bee Inspector visit today. All the girls were well behaved and given a clean bill of health. Always lots to learn...a visit is like a one to one lesson. Learnt a lot. My drone laying queen has a stay of execution....as she just likes drones apparently. So my Hygienic queen might get to have her own colony. My new carniolan queen was out of the cage when we opened up...noticeably quieter bees now they have a queen again.
We saw my new black queen....we agreed that she was stunning!

But a swarm usually leaves on day eight.

 

[Millet]

Far too cold today to do my artificial swarm procedure! I'm out of the country tomorrow until Sunday night! So, I can artificial swarm them on the seventh day after seeing a fresh laid egg in a play cup. Is that going to be before the Lady chooses to vacate?? Help!

It is like a winters day here, by the weekend it is supposed to warm back up so you should be good to have a play about on Sunday, i had several sealed Queen cells a week or so ago and they had not swarmed, they did eventually but that is another story.

 

[Tom Jay]

On average, the queen emerges 16 days after the egg is laid. The fact that you saw an egg in a cup means that it wasn't yet day 4. 7+4=11 so you will still have a few days so long as there were no cells more advanced than the one you saw

Thanks for replying! But the swarm will take place before emergence - how many days before is the big question here!

 

[Tom Jay]

But a swarm usually leaves on day eight.

Heck. I've lots of close neighbours. Perhaps I should risk chilling brood and do it today anyway? Still time now, just.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Brood is more robust than you think

 

[Tom Jay]

Done my artificial swarm! The ladies were not calm, as they are on a warm day! The silly thing is I had to go through the lot three times before I found her majesty, even though marked! I kept toweling across most of the frames, and held each up in the cool breeze for no more than half a minute at a time - hence I suppose not seeing the queen first time! I will learn my lessons well.

Interesting to see that the mere play cups of just two days ago were much more developed today - three at least. Thankfully none of the frame the queen was on so there was not even more delay picking her off or cutting those out. None on the next frame either which on one side was the edge of her brood nest so I gave her that too. All other frames are mere foundation but they have two supers well heavy above them so no shortage there. There are three frames with stores in the old and shifted brood box so I reckon that will keep the house bees ok until I return from my trip. Might feed those ones on Monday and see how many queen cells I have there. I intend to take out my old queen [2014 and she swarmed last year] but I'd like to keep all her queenie daughters as the 'emergency' queen I had off her last August is my best lay-er this season.

 

[Tom Jay]

Brood is more robust than you think

Thanks for that. I feel dreadful about holding up comb with open larvae and eggs on such a cool day! I guess that's the other thing I'll look for next Monday - evidence of any failure due to chilling.

So much to learn! This is just my second artificial swarm procedure. Last year's was so different and calm for me on a warm still day and queenie seen at first search.

 

[Brigsy]

Did you have cups with an emerged larvae and Royal Jelly or just a play cup with a dry egg?

 

[Tom Jay]

Did you have cups with an emerged larvae and Royal Jelly or just a play cup with a dry egg?

The one I could see into properly on monday had just a dry egg, but there was another one more kinda kinked and longer which I couldn't see into properly.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Heck. I've lots of close neighbours. Perhaps I should risk chilling brood and do it today anyway? Still time now, just.

do it now - never put off anything involving QC's

 

[Brigsy]

The one I could see into properly on monday had just a dry egg, but there was another one more kinda kinked and longer which I couldn't see into properly.

Understood

 

[Swarm]

Thanks for that. I feel dreadful about holding up comb with open larvae and eggs on such a cool day! I guess that's the other thing I'll look for next Monday - evidence of any failure due to chilling.

So much to learn! This is just my second artificial swarm procedure. Last year's was so different and calm for me on a warm still day and queenie seen at first search.

Sounds like you did just fine to me. The brood will be OK and if there was any loss it would be far fewer than you'd lose in a swarm.

 

[Tremyfro]

A slight navigational error meant my new Hygienic Queen ended up in a different nuc. She may be good at keeping the cobwebs at bay but clearly she has little homing instinct! During an inspection...there she was waltzing across the frame of bees without a care in the world...dishcloth flapping and mop cap askew. She looked mated though...so we left her with her new band of char ladies.
The original nuc awaits a queen.
The langstroth colony had a few queen cells a couple of days ago...so checked them today...not sealed yet. We found the queen...so we put her with the frame she was on in a new brood box of empty frames on the original site. All the brood went above with a different entrance....so flyers could exit and drones could escape. There were stores in this box.
There were no supers on this colony so I am thinking...do I need to add another box with a feeder in it for the bottom box? I'm thinking they will starve as they have no stores at all.

 

[Obee1]

A slight navigational error meant my new Hygienic Queen ended up in a different nuc. She may be good at keeping the cobwebs at bay but clearly she has little homing instinct! During an inspection...there she was waltzing across the frame of bees without a care in the world...dishcloth flapping and mop cap askew. She looked mated though...so we left her with her new band of char ladies.
The original nuc awaits a queen.
The langstroth colony had a few queen cells a couple of days ago...so checked them today...not sealed yet. We found the queen...so we put her with the frame she was on in a new brood box of empty frames on the original site. All the brood went above with a different entrance....so flyers could exit and drones could escape. There were stores in this box.
There were no supers on this colony so I am thinking...do I need to add another box with a feeder in it for the bottom box? I'm thinking they will starve as they have no stores at all.

I wondered about the lack of stores too - a genuine swarm has no stores - but they would have a binge prior to departure - which an a/s wouldn't. The weather is good today though so they can go to the local shops for food

Btw how do you know that is your hygienic queen walking round doing the cleaning and not some cheap European labour the hive hired themselves when they heard about the hygienic neighbouring hive!

 

[thenovice]

Heck. I've lots of close neighbours. Perhaps I should risk chilling brood and do it today anyway? Still time now, just.

snellgrove II for you. just put hive couple of yards to the side. new hive on old site and just open the old hive long enough to pick a frame of brood (without queen) and some stores. should not be open for more than a minute.

 

[Lucky Bee]

Very disappointed today. Checked A/S that I did two weeks ago. It would appear that the old queen has swarmed/died. Combs just being filled with honey, no eggs, some (not many) 5 day old larvae and three emergency queen cells. I did everything to the book - popped her in a new box on original site one one frame of brood. Checked there were no queen cells on this frame. Filled the rest of the box with drawn comb and foundation. Two supers on top. I've reduced the emergency queen cells to one. I hope the other half does OK

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Very disappointed today. Checked A/S that I did two weeks ago. It would appear that the old queen has swarmed/died. Combs just being filled with honey, no eggs, some (not many) 5 day old larvae and three emergency queen cells. I did everything to the book - popped her in a new box on original site one one frame of brood. Checked there were no queen cells on this frame. Filled the rest of the box with drawn comb and foundation. Two supers on top. I've reduced the emergency queen cells to one. I hope the other half does OK

Did you check a few days after the A/S for fresh QC's? happens often with Pagdens - that's it's biggest downfall - only a 50% success rate

 

[Tremyfro]

I wondered about the lack of stores too - a genuine swarm has no stores - but they would have a binge prior to departure - which an a/s wouldn't. The weather is good today though so they can go to the local shops for food

Btw how do you know that is your hygienic queen walking round doing the cleaning and not some cheap European labour the hive hired themselves when they heard about the hygienic neighbouring hive!

Yes good weather today...loads of foragers out. So you think no need to feed?
I know it was my hygienic queen...she was wearing the same white crown. Just as well she didn't try to go into the next hive along....she might have got a different welcome.