Who's lost a swarm then...........

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I d i o t

Lost my new red queen from the nuc I was comb-changing. Yesterday for reasons that I will never understand, I did not look below the QE. Had I even lifted it, I would have seen QCs right away, and yesterday she went THROUGH THE TOP ENTRANCE (of course). The good news is that since said entrance was new and they had not yet found it, she took MUCH less than half the bees with her, and was laying until at most 3 days ago. So recovery will not be too bad, and the huge colony that I was fixated on (hence the "learning experience") remains swarm-free so far.

The bad news is she was a prodigious queen and of course I'm stuck with those bloody combs.

Had I looked yesterday, I had a perfect walkaway split on my hands. And of course my bait hive stands mockingly empty 20 yards away.

I D I O T

 

[drstitson]

had a nice one sat at chest height in a tree for 3-4 days last week. unfortunately OH had to just keep an eye on it as unsafe for her to collect. bees ignored hives with old brood frames placed around them and left on thurs pm.

however she spotted one on way home from local nursery - now safely rehoused.

 

[Pete D]

lost one/// caught one /// lost one// caught one.. when is all gonna stop????

once all the casts have gone..................

it has certainly been a year for them so far, what chance of them all building back up and doing it all again in July !

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

had a nice one sat at chest height in a tree for 3-4 days last week. unfortunately OH had to just keep an eye on it as unsafe for her to collect. bees ignored hives with old brood frames placed around them and left on thurs pm.



however she spotted one on way home from local nursery - now safely rehoused.

Is it normal for them to sit around for days? Should I look harder for mine?

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Depends how quickly the scouts find a suitable new home and the swarm to reach a consensus

 

[Heather]

Got 2 yesterday, prime and cast, I think. Original colony in chimney and these two swarms were within 6' of each other. I don't think one swarm split, but time will tell.
Hived both separately and both colonies fanning on entering.
Biggest problem was that they settled on the ground in 1:10 gradient of grass under tiny apple trees with little clearance..
Keeping boxes and myself balanced was 'interesting', and maybe undid all the osteo therapy received earlier that day on my knee!
No more swarms needed. 18 colonies enough!!!

 

[drstitson]

"Is it normal for them to sit around for days? Should I look harder for mine?"

i should add that most of that time was spent tightly clustered in the rain.

 

[Erichalfbee]

Lost my new red queen ......yesterday she went THROUGH THE TOP ENTRANCE

I D I O T

When I did 2 Bailey changes earlier this Spring I put the top entrances UNDER the excluders.....my idea was to be able to let the drones out from the bottom box. Serendipitously it kept the queens at home.
In one bottom box, when I took it away after three weeks, there was a capped QC

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

Haha. Thanks, Erica. A relatively cheap learning experience!

 

[TOBY-3652]

once all the casts have gone..................

it has certainly been a year for them so far, what chance of them all building back up and doing it all again in July !

mm I split one on the 24 th of april. looked today 3 supers absolutely full.. 8 frames full of brood most of it capped. and 8 q cells.. beggers gone.. so these that are been split now will be at it againe in a month.. only way ive found to stop her swarming is to kill her ha ha

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

When I did 2 Bailey changes earlier this Spring I put the top entrances UNDER the excluders.....my idea was to be able to let the drones out from the bottom box. Serendipitously it kept the queens at home.
In one bottom box, when I took it away after three weeks, there was a capped QC

It's a real learning point on comb changes, actually. It's BECAUSE they're the filthy beaten-up old frames that they get the QCs even thiugh they're the bottom box. Makes me think along the lines of a "QC trap" like a drone trap...