What would you do? One for our novice beekeepers

[E&MBees]

Is the queen still alive?

Yes. Laying beautifully

 

[Erichalfbee]

Nuc’ing the queen is not a fail safe option unfortunately

To go back to that
It was a fail safe option. All that has happened is that the colony has built up to such a size that swarm preps have been made again. You say you are putting her into another colony. I'd be interested what happens there.....It is still early in the season. What will you do with her bees?

 

[E&MBees]

To go back to that
It was a fail safe option. All that has happened is that the colony has built up to such a size that swarm preps have been made again. You say you are putting her into another colony. I'd be interested what happens there.....It is still early in the season. What will you do with her bees?

The queen can replace an underperforming one. Her bees, I’ll allow them to raise another queen and review in due course.
Just to note, this has taken place over the last three weeks. Originally nuc’d on the 4/5, qc’s again on the 25/5.

 

[StEaLtHPoT]

Very new beekeeper, but 1 cell sounds like supercedure. You don't mention if supers are full , but maybe my lack of experience, but from what i hear, new beekeepers main mistakes are doing too much in the hive.

In this situation id be considering adding a super or two if full and bruising half the downstairs stores so they carry it up and have more brood room and wait for the supercedure.. or swarm if that's what it turned out to be. but if its capped already they should have swarmed already.

id be toying with the above, or simply nothing for now.

I could be very wrong, and i would run this past my mentor as i really am that new

 

[E&MBees]

I’ve hyjacked Swarm’s thread enough, so I’ll be quiet. Sorry Steve.

 

[Erichalfbee]

I’ve hyjacked Swarm’s thread enough, so I’ll be quiet. Sorry Steve.

I’m sure he doesn’t mind. It’s been an interesting discussion and an illustration of swarmy bees. People contend that you don’t get swarmy genes just ineffective management. I recon you do.

 

[Antipodes]

The queen can replace an underperforming one. Her bees, I’ll allow them to raise another queen and review in due course.
Just to note, this has taken place over the last three weeks. Originally nuc’d on the 4/5, qc’s again on the 25/5.

I can't understand how the bees have built up again (in just three weeks) to such a size that swarm preps have been made when you did as you say on the 4/5, but there you go.

 

[Swarm]

I recall the swarming that went on in 2022 when splits and subsequent splits insisted on seeing out their intention to swarm, my friend had a few very determined colonies. Oddly, that year when every beekeeper I spoke to were complaining, I had only a couple of colonies that made any attempt, it turned out to be the easiest season I've ever had.
The persistent behaviour at my friend's apiary was certainly out of the ordinary, I guess some things about bees we just have to accept and adapt our beekeeping in order to manage them.

 

[Swarm]

Very new beekeeper, but 1 cell sounds like supercedure. You don't mention if supers are full , but maybe my lack of experience, but from what i hear, new beekeepers main mistakes are doing too much in the hive.

In this situation id be considering adding a super or two if full and bruising half the downstairs stores so they carry it up and have more brood room and wait for the supercedure.. or swarm if that's what it turned out to be. but if its capped already they should have swarmed already.

id be toying with the above, or simply nothing for now.

I could be very wrong, and i would run this past my mentor as i really am that new

No they were not plugged out.

I posted this attachment before, on that occasion I arrived at the apiary to the sound and site of the swarm issuing. Going through the culprit hive, I spotted the queen on the second frame and popped her in a nuc. I then found a recently emerged cell and a couple more in the process of emerging, two emerged in my hand. By the time I caged these virgins and sorted out the hive, everything was back to normal, bees were all back home.
I've no idea what they were doing that day.

As others have mentioned though, they don't always go on a sealed cell. However, it's the end of May and swarm season, the colony is a big one and not one to lose and there was the queen

 

[Swarm]

Update on the oak tree colony.
Original hive made a total of seven cells, cut out six and left them the original and I kept three nice cells for the incubator. I consider swarmy genetics are displayed by colonies that raise an abundance of cells, I rarely find cells in double figures.
Old queen was moved to a six frame nuc which she has pretty much laid up so I upgraded her to a full hive. There were no signs of further cell building.