What is your swarm plan for this season?

[Poly Hive]

Please share.

PH

 

[Millet]

After talking too several good members on here i had decided to go the Demaree route but i don't really have the experience to mess about with that at the moment but i'm not ruling it out, i have also thought about brood and a half or double brood and if that fails and queen cells appear on the bottom of the frames i may do a split/ artificial swarm, i do however like the idea of a Demaree.

 

[Robbo8916]

I'm aiming for the artificial swarm/split route personally. Would like to go from one to two colonies before the end of the season.

 

[AndrewD]

Artificial swarm for me to hopefully go from 2 to 4 plus a couple of swarm traps put to see if I can attract a couple of the wild swarms I know of.

Andrew

 

[Robbo8916]

Artificial swarm for me to hopefully go from 2 to 4 plus a couple of swarm traps put to see if I can attract a couple of the wild swarms I know of.

Andrew

Sadly I'm strapped for space at the moment so an increase to more than two just isn't viable. Although I have been eyeing up the flat roof on the local church.....

Kath collected my hive earlier and I was relieved when she said I had built it well inc frames. (Nice to meet you by the way Hedgehog). Exciting times are coming

 

[Teebeeaitch]

My plan is not to interfere. No seven day inspections, no queen clipping, no problem. Let them throw reproductive swarms, catch some, lose some. Let's call it a KISS plan.

 

[Millet]

Sadly I'm strapped for space at the moment so an increase to more than two just isn't viable. Although I have been eyeing up the flat roof on the local church.....

Kath collected my hive earlier and I was relieved when she said I had built it well inc frames. (Nice to meet you by the way Hedgehog). Exciting times are coming

I have more than enough space for a commercial amount of hives but i don't have the time or want too faff about with that many and foremost i don't have the knowledge.

 

[Tim.S]

New queens every year, no qe so less chance of restrictions on laying space. 7 day checks by box tipping and inspection and when all the above fail Demaree.

 

[Millet]

New queens every year, no qe so less chance of restrictions on laying space. 7 day checks by box tipping and inspection and when all the above fail Demaree.

Is it not too late to Demaree once the above have failed and queen cells are charged.

 

[Poly Hive]

Teebeeaitch?

That is a how to annoy the neighbours plan. Not good PR.

PH

 

[snelgrove]

Clipped queens, I take a shook swarm with old queen and hive on a different site.
Several are taken together sometimes and hived up creating a strong stock.
Old colony one cell left and and others destroyed.
If increase is.not needed I unite back before heather with young queen
The thing about shook swarms the bees settle down and forget about swarming.
Artificial swarm I find the bees keep preparing to swarm

 

[dpearce4]

My plan is not to interfere. No seven day inspections, no queen clipping, no problem. Let them throw reproductive swarms, catch some, lose some. Let's call it a KISS plan.

Teebeeaitch?

That is a how to annoy the neighbours plan. Not good PR.

PH

Totally agree with PH. I hope you don't have local neighbours with chimneys or other spaces that a swarm would like.

Please think again. Or contact your local BKA to forewarn them that you will be producing swarms and they could set up lots of bait hives around your hives.

 

[alldigging]

A snelgrove maybe or just splits into nucs.
Or a proper pagden.

Last year was all Snelgroves and that worked ok.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I'm terribly lazy
AS when I find QCs, recombine for flow.
I might keep one split as I have a dead hive to replace. I like to run 4 hives and a support/spare for them.
4 bait hives out, caught two swarms last year.

 

[REDWOOD]

funny how you should start a new thread which was exactly what I was thinking this afternoon down at the apiary lol, started clearing a bit of ground that could be my nuc area for when I do some splits, depending on how good the queens are when I split I will then decide whether to requeen. I still want to increase a bit more before I start doing a rolling Demaree.

I would like to go down the route of raising good queens but yet to find one that completely satisfies me (fussy bugger) but I'll leave that job for the big boys out there

 

[beeno]

I usually get my thrills from the swarms that I get called out to. I do have a two year old to replace though, but I take my lead from them.

 

[REDWOOD]

I'm terribly lazy
AS when I find QCs, recombine for flow.
I might keep one split as I have a dead hive to replace. I like to run 4 hives and a support/spare for them.
4 bait hives out, caught two swarms last year.

I had a dead out last year, turned the entrance block around so it would not get robbed, removed a couple of old brood frames to test and moved it to the end of the apiary until I had more time to sort it out but was one of those jobs I kept on forgetting to do (my excuse) until I noticed bees flying around it, little did I know I only turned the entrance block to the single bee space side and a swarm move in. now in the spot where I removed the brood frames they built some lovely comb so I left them to it, this year I will do a Bailey comb change to sort out the mess.
Moral of the story; Don't put off until tomorrow what you can do today

 

[Tom Bick]

No great plans at the moment there will be plenty of kit ready and options if needed.

I have been fortunate over the past two years with very low swarm preparations and would like the same this year but time will reveal all.

 

[thorn]

I've no space for any more hives, so I'm going to have to go down the snelgrove route.

 

[Fatbee]

A snelgrove maybe or just splits into nucs.
Or a proper pagden.

Last year was all Snelgroves and that worked ok.

Which method of a Snelgrove did you use? I used modified method 2 and liked it despite it seeming implausible leaving queen cells with the queen. Also good if you're in a rush and don't have time to find the queen.