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

[Dazzabee]

First A/S of the season for me today So not really a swarm. It was my largest colony on 14x12 with 11 frames of brood and 3x supers. Looks like I'm a few days late with the next empty supers as they were out of space and working on 6 x charged q/cells with young larvae. I Knew I should've added another super on the last inspection as they only had 2/3 empty space left in the bottom super, but I was rushing a bit that day........the girls always punish you for not paying attention!!

Lots of activity at my bait hive today too though ;-)
Hopefully the scouts were not from mine lol

 

[denise washington]

lost bees

my bees swarmed last Thursday day before I came off holiday but got them back only swarmed down garden think I was very lucky

 

[freethorpe bees]

ours swarmed last Thursday - I knew something was afoot as kept getting bees in the kitchen (scouts). The hives are over the other side of the field a good quarter mile.

Huge swarm on a fence post which was quite awkward to get into a box. Got a good 90% of them in a brood box but checked Friday and they have buggered off again. Lordy knows where.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Had one lot set off yesterday, have a quick circle, then return to the hive. Expect they will have another go soon.

 

[alldigging]

Had one lot set off yesterday, have a quick circle, then return to the hive. Expect they will have another go soon.

Someone in our apiary had one. It landed in the hedge and then after a minute or twirl reswirled in the air and mostly landed on the front of the hive wence it came.

 

[Teebeeaitch]

Literally hundreds of posts on here from those who have diligently carried out their own preferred method of swarm prevention. Those that are obsessed with delving through the brood every seven days in search of that which shall not be named. The search for the Holy Grail, the colony over which you have 100% control. Oh well, not this time, just more shock and horror as you find they swarmed anyway and you didn’t even know until after the event. Yes, swarm season is always good for a chuckle.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Literally hundreds of posts on here from those who have diligently carried out their own preferred method of swarm prevention. Those that are obsessed with delving through the brood every seven days in search of that which shall not be named. The search for the Holy Grail, the colony over which you have 100% control. Oh well, not this time, just more shock and horror as you find they swarmed anyway and you didn’t even know until after the event. Yes, swarm season is always good for a chuckle.

Show me one person who claims to have 100% control over their bees. Those who are interested in maximising their harvest or maintaining the volume of bees necessary for colony survival will have several techniques to do so, of which swarm control will be one.

Nothing more irritating than someone who re-imagines the truth to satisfy their own arguments while sneering at the efforts of others. Some like top bars or warres, others prefer more conventional methods. Live and let live!

 

[Moggett]

In the garden yesterday at about 3pm and a big swarm flew overhead, disappearing into the distance!!!! Not one of mine I hasten to add as mine are a few miles away in the other direction.

I had to do some major management on mine a few days ago. One colony had a sealed QC and one that was charged and near capping, but the queen was still there so I popped her in a nuc.

I also culled a queen that was producing ferocious daughters and merged them with another colony that I had previously artificially swarmed. Culling that queen was done with genuine regret, I had given her plenty of opportunity but the temperament was constant and they were not building up properly. She was a beaut to look at too and it goes against the grain to dispose of a queen. However, for a small colony they really packed a punch, I was getting stung through the suit and rubber gloves. Had they reached a full colony they would have been a problem.

 

[429bettsy]

One of mine swarmed 3pm yesterday just as I was about to do an inspection. They spent all night 30' up in a large tree in my garden then finally left lunch time today. As they left I jumped in my car and followed them hoping they would rest somewhere where I could retrieve them but they gave me the slip several roads away. It was a great experience to see but I would prefer the bees to the experience.

 

[Margaret Elisabeth]

Yes that counts !

I don't see how that counts if the precaution worked.
Its a bit like saying I lost my trousers when the braces snapped but fortunately the belt held them up.

 

[Belley]

I returned from 10 nights away on holiday to find numerous capped queen cells in one hive, no sign of my original queen, but the hive was brimming full of bees? I really don't know how I missed the queen cells perviously

I think they must have swarmed but no real reduction in bee numbers - is this possible?

I then asked a fellow bee keeper for advice and he helped me inspect the hive and locate the queen, but no luck, so we split the colony in two, as luckily I'd already purchased a new poly hive. Just waiting to see now if I can re-establish the two colonies.

 

[Alabamaeee]

I returned from 10 nights away on holiday to find numerous capped queen cells in one hive, no sign of my original queen, but the hive was brimming full of bees? I really don't know how I missed the queen cells perviously

I think they must have swarmed but no real reduction in bee numbers - is this possible?

Maybe that there was a big increase in the population due to hatching brood after the swarm which would lead you to think not many bees left.

 

[Beesand]

Come on own up...............who has lost a swarm, it still counts if you recaptured it.

Holding back the swarms at the moment but for how long only the bees will decide.

 

[Brian Bush]

I must confess I have lost one yesterday. I have been so busy chasing other swarms, in my role as swarm co-ordinator, that I did not check the artificial swarm half that was raising a new queen. I should have culled some queen cells. I think I have lost 2 cast swarms from this hive in the last 2 days. DOH!!!

 

[busybee53]

On Saturday it looked like one hive which I had already A/Sd was trying to superceed. Two nice sealed cells right in the middle of different frames. I shut them up, crossed my fingers and read Clive de Bruyn's book. He says bees can start off superceeding and end up swarming, or can start swarm preparations and superceed instead. He says there is no way of knowing what the bees will do until they have done it. (Note to self: "what chance do I have or getting it right then?")

Yesterday there was a swarm coming from the hive but I could not see a cluster in the trees. My clipped queen was below the hive entrance. I rushed home to get a nuc. The queen was still there when I got back so I put her in the nuc and tried to get the swarm to go inside too but most of them seemed to want to return to their original hive.

So I inspected the original hive whilst they were all flying about. A not very wonderful experience. In the original hive the two nice superceedure cells the bees had on Saturday had been broken down and there were 16 queen cells instead. I have left the best one. This lot are all getting reunited when the new queen in the original A/S has mated, so can we please have blue skies and 17 degrees early next week?

 

[Gribbee]

Lost one last weekend. Only the week before, I discovered the queen in the super above the excluder which she had almost fully laid up. I removed the excluder to effectively make this brood and half. Inspected on Monday and she had gone without laying an egg in the BB. Moral of the story, check super for QC's when HM has been trapped in there. DOHHH

 

[Tabby15]

Been away overnight, got home and within minutes one of my hives had swarmed. This is only my second year but I will know next time to follow my instinct when there are 10 frames of brood and not just follow advice to add another super. Last inspection was 8 days ago. One day too many.

Anyhow have recaptured swarm. Checked my planned course of action with expert from my association. Have QE top and bottom, several frames with starter strips and two frames of food.

Checked original hive. 8 queen cells so have knocked all but one down and am now stopping reading all the conflicting advice about leaving one or leaving two. Arghh!

 

[thorn]

I have two hives in my garden. Last weekend I demarreed one that was producing queen cups. The other seemed okay.
On Tuesday I arrived home to be told by my neighbour that I'd had a swarm. Another neighbour confirmed that he'd had a large ball of bees in a tree in his garden. My first thought was that my demarree was too late.
I inspected today. I went to the demarreed hive first. There was the queen. I went to the other hive, and there was its queen.
I can only think that one of the colonies swarmed, then returned home.
Alternatively, there are a couple of hives in the allotments a dew hundred yards away. But what are the odds of a swarm from there landing 20 yards from my hives?

 

[TOBY-3652]

yep lost one

 

[Chris Luck]

I'm sure I have, probably several this year.

Chris