Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: spafmagic on March 22, 2020, 04:33:12 pm

Title: Swarming: Minimum temperature?
Post by: spafmagic on March 22, 2020, 04:33:12 pm

Is there a minimum temperature that bees will swarm in? I'm debating on splitting a hive that's a bit packed, but don't  want to risk "chill brood." Was thinking on doing it today... max temp of 55F. But I don't do it today, could they swarm? Rain is coming for the next couple days, and the next time I can potentially do it is Wednesday, when the max temp is expected to be 73ish. I'm hoping if the cool weather today, and the rain can keep them from swarming, I could do it Wednesday morning.

On a side note, this past Thursday, there was as swarm reported by the farmer who owns the bees I take care of, by the tree the hive was near. When I got there, it was gone, but the hive itself was still packed. I wonder if they went back into the hive, or if that was a random swarm from elsewhere.

Title: Re: Swarming: Minimum temperature?
Post by: iddee on March 22, 2020, 05:03:48 pm

You can decide for yourself, but I would wait until Wednesday. Chilling is more of a danger than swarming, under those conditions.
With the forecast for Tuesday morning, I would look for a window then.