What is your swarm plan for this season?

[mjt68]

Take a nuc.

 

[Gribbee]

Wally Shaw's Modified Snelgrove 2 every time for me.

 

[Tom Jay]

Last season, my first full season beekeeping, I had to do one artificial swarm early June, and, AS-ed, they went on to gain my best surplus with no further swarm preparations. I would value the experience of doing that again. I have kit for a sixth colony, and friends a few miles away with an empty hive for which I'd like to provide a nuc.

Last season I also misjudged another hive and had a primary swarm to catch and hive. I really valued that experience too but, with my hives in our garden with interested neighbours all around, I musn't wish a repeat opportunity of that!

With three 2014 queens, I need to contemplate queen replacement I suppose, and I don't relish that one little bit. How to cope finishing off one of my 'Ladies' - am I the only newbie who finds the prospect unsettling? I'll certainly be looking out for any sign of preparations for supercedure and run with that if I can as a preferred option.

 

[Tremyfro]

I know how you feel about dispatching a queen. I caught one and I'm afraid I put her in the freezer...for weeks ....as someone said they had bees ...wake up. It did kill her...but I still felt bad about it.

 

[Obee1]

I know how you feel about dispatching a queen. I caught one and I'm afraid I put her in the freezer...for weeks ....as someone said they had bees ...wake up. It did kill her...but I still felt bad about it.

ha! Me too
I still have the two queens in my freezer that I had to do away with last summer.
One still in the one handed queen catcher. Hope the plastic survives 6 months of freezing!
This year I plan to replace my fave Bucky (2014) queen from the garden hive. I'll never be able to kill her so she will live in a retirement home (nuc)

 

[Tim.S]

Grit your teeth and squeeze between thumb and forefinger!
I still wince even after quite a few years of doing it although if the Queen was a vicious one it is very satisfying!

 

[Erichalfbee]

Grit your teeth and squeeze between thumb and forefinger!

Absolutely!
Much much kinder than letting her freeze to death all alone when she has spent her life surrounded by her loving daughters with not even one to help her into the next life!

 

[Tremyfro]

Uggggh...I couldn't squeeze her to death! I expect she would sting me in her death throes. Dying from the cold...is apparently just like going to sleep...do bees shiver first?

 

[Tom Jay]

Hey friends, I'm comforted to discover that other keepers don't relish dispatching queens! The retirement home nuc is a sweet thought! I wonder if in that situation a true supercedure is more likely, so that once her daughter is mated and laying the whole lot move into full size again?

A pal of mine in commercial honey making told me about a successful mother and daughter hive he had two seasons back, the old lady still laying, from which he harvested 200 pounds. The situation was a field next to the biggest and best pick your own farm in Northumberland so they weren't short of forage!

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Grit your teeth and squeeze between thumb and forefinger!

The decorate the nearest gatepost - easily accessible for collecting a swarm

 

[Charlieanne]

Did a split last year - only had one hive so wanted more for insurance over winter, however no honey as my first year starting from a nuc.

Plan to try snelgrove and demaree methods this year between my now three hives (providing they have all made it through the winter) and see which one I prefer, and hopefully leave large enough colonies to get some honey

 

[Erichalfbee]

Hey friends, I'm comforted to discover that other keepers don't relish dispatching queens! The retirement home nuc is a sweet thought!

Trouble is 2 colonies become 4 become 8 become 16 become 32 etc etc

 

[dpearce4]

Trouble is 2 colonies become 4 become 8 become 16 become 32 etc etc

If only.

don't forget the colonies that die each winter.

 

[Tremyfro]

I had a peculiar queen last year....she seemed a slow layer. There was a hole in a frame and the bees made several rounds of queen cells there...I harvested some and made nucs which became hives. In the hive with the peculiar queen....she continued to lay albeit slowly....I contemplated removing her and combining the bees with another colony. In the end I transferred the colony to a nuc...put a feeder on top and left them to it. By this time the colony was a small one ....probably 2 frames with brood and stores from the syrup. I had no confidence that it would survive...but here we are almost at the end of March with bees flying and showing evidence of a thriving colony!
So a stay of execution has paid dividends....I'm glad she wasnt gate post fodder!

 

[bjosephd]

2 hives, both late mated queens from last season... so hopefully not crazy keen on swarming.

But to temper swarming plan is to increase space early, no QE - give queen all the space and free reign she requires, and get the hives through the summer and well prepped for winter... watching and learning this year in a big way... not a honey year... it's a 'watch what bees like to do in a box' year.

Going to work in as many foundationless frames as possible also... so that should maybe hopefully keep them 'occupied'.

However, if I spot any swarm preps during checks I'll split off a nuc - kind of keen for this anyway after last year's queenlessness shenanigans, so an insurance nuc or two would be a great help for potential fatalities.