When do people de-Demaree?

[TryingToLetThemBee]

So the solstice is gone and we are days away from letting July swarms fly. It is time to shrink brood nests and start the process of settling down. Demareeing is getting increasingly pointless as it conflicts with the bees' plans in this regard, so finding clean frames to switch about is harder. When do people stop and go to double brood again?

 

[Erichalfbee]

So the solstice is gone and we are days away from letting July swarms fly. It is time to shrink brood nests and start the process of settling down. Demareeing is getting increasingly pointless as it conflicts with the bees' plans in this regard, so finding clean frames to switch about is harder. When do people stop and go to double brood again?

I’ve just done mine. Though they are back to one brood.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I’ve just done mine. Though they are back to one brood.

Just did all 5 of mine too. They are REALLY settling down; drone cells full of nectar etc. 60pct success this year; had to A/S two. Inspections so much easier from now on!


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[Erichalfbee]

Just did all 5 of mine too. They are REALLY settling down; drone cells full of nectar etc. 60pct success this year; had to A/S two. Inspections so much easier from now on!


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Mine is huge. 14x12 and a shallow.
Just put another super on mine. I’m going to chance not looking into the brood again for a while.

 

[B+.]

So the solstice is gone and we are days away from letting July swarms fly. It is time to shrink brood nests and start the process of settling down. Demareeing is getting increasingly pointless as it conflicts with the bees' plans in this regard, so finding clean frames to switch about is harder. When do people stop and go to double brood again?

You let swarms go?

 

[jeff33]

You don't generally demaree anymore at this time of the year? I have a hive (prime swarm caught a month ago) with 6 frames of brood and was contemplating doing a demaree this week.

 

[Beefriendly]

You don't generally demaree anymore at this time of the year? I have a hive (prime swarm caught a month ago) with 6 frames of brood and was contemplating doing a demaree this week.

Why?

 

[B+.]

I'm puzzled why the queen would be taken away from a box of brood containing eggs, larvae, nurse bees, etc and transferred to a box containing only older foragers. This makes little sense to me. By all means, put a frame of open larvae in a box for flyers to return to, if you have to, but foragers are generally too old to feed hatching eggs. To my mind, it makes more sense to leave the queen with the brood/nurse bees, turn it through 180 degrees and bleed off the flying bees to the frame of larvae. Like this (https://youtu.be/Wm7RqXJD4_w?t=23m45s)

 

[jeff33]

I have used vertical splits before but can you use this method as pre-amptive rather than re-active?

 

[B+.]

I have used vertical splits before but can you use this method as pre-amptive rather than re-active?

Of course.

I just can't understand why you'd wan to take the queen away from the brood/young bees. They haven't flown and are biologically of the right age to feed larvae. Old flyers aren't.

 

[Beefriendly]

I have used vertical splits before but can you use this method as pre-amptive rather than re-active?

You are expecting a 1 month old swarm to swarm again??????
Your local bees and my local bees must be close cousins

It'd be giving them an extra-brood box and see how much the queen will lay. 6 frames in a month sounds like she might be a good 'un.
But they are your bees you do with them as you wish.

 

[jeff33]

You are expecting a 1 month old swarm to swarm again??????
Your local bees and my local bees must be close cousins

It'd be giving them an extra-brood box and see how much the queen will lay. 6 frames in a month sounds like she might be a good 'un.
But they are your bees you do with them as you wish.

Being a swarm I expect them to be very good at what they do best.... Swarm !!

 

[Beefriendly]

Being a swarm I expect them to be very good at what they do best.... Swarm !!

Unlikely, but possible.
If you are determined to pre-emp (I wouldn't) then I'd go snelgrove rather than demaree, with a super over the bottom brood box with queen. It will take while for the bottom brood box to generate much brood so you will have lots of idle bees with nothing else to do but collect nectar!! And then you keep reinforcing them by bleeding off foraging bees from the top box, if you wish. And don't take much notice of the exact timings...just be careful when your new queen emerges not to change openings until after she has started to lay.

 

[dano41]

"https://youtu.be/Wm7RqXJD4_w?t=23m45s"
The guy in this video does not turn the bees round 180 degrees.The brood box entrance is above with the blue landing board facing same direction as the original entrance.

 

[jeff33]

I'm puzzled why the queen would be taken away from a box of brood containing eggs, larvae, nurse bees, etc and transferred to a box containing only older foragers. This makes little sense to me. By all means, put a frame of open larvae in a box for flyers to return to, if you have to, but foragers are generally too old to feed hatching eggs. To my mind, it makes more sense to leave the queen with the brood/nurse bees, turn it through 180 degrees and bleed off the flying bees to the frame of larvae. Like this (https://youtu.be/Wm7RqXJD4_w?t=23m45s)

The 2 concepts are interesting B+. When you look at swarms, they are all made of older flying bees but yet attend brood once the queen start laying. It would be interesting to see (perhaps already done) whether there is a difference in health between brood raised by nurse bees and swarm bees.

 

[B+.]

The 2 concepts are interesting B+. When you look at swarms, they are all made of older flying bees but yet attend brood once the queen start laying. It would be interesting to see (perhaps already done) whether there is a difference in health between brood raised by nurse bees and swarm bees.

I think you're basing your statement on a false premise. A swarm will contain a cross-section of the adult population, not just the older foraging bees. Anything that can fly (including some drones).
Also, I don't mean to imply that fliers can't nurse brood. Of course they can....to an extent. However, their hypopharyngeal glands have already done their job when they were younger. It is possible to "turn back the clock" a little, but, only for a while.

 

[masterBK]

I was junder the impression that the greater majority of a swarm are younger bees (so called house bees)

 

[beeno]

I was junder the impression that the greater majority of a swarm are younger bees (so called house bees)

 

[Finman]

I was junder the impression that the greater majority of a swarm are younger bees (so called house bees)

They are, because of its build up history. The colony is after Winter small. Then it is expanding, and the whole colony is quite young. There a period when all wintered bees are dead and almost the whole colony is house bees.

Later on summer all bees are in better foraging balance and the are structure is different.

 

[B+.]

I was junder the impression that the greater majority of a swarm are younger bees (so called house bees)

I've read that too. I've also read the scouts are in charge (http://www.bees-and-beekeeping.com/age-of-worker-bees-in-a-swarm.html). In truth, I think the scouts are in charge of finding the new home but the "decision" on when to swarm is anyones guess. There are theories involving the ratio of young to old, age of queen, etc. etc...
I'm not sure that we know for certain. I'm also not convinced that its always the same.