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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by BeeMaster2 on Today at 07:58:13 am »

Bob,
Sounds like what I call Super Swarming.  The bees are holding queens in their cells to bee able to make numerous swarms. If you put your ear next to the hive, if the bees are holding queens in their cells you will hear the queens piping. When you go into the hive to make a Nuc, check to see if there are any swarm cells. Remove all but two or three. Check every frame. If you use a lot of smoke while inspecting, you can sometimes disturb them enough to distract the bees and the queens will escape. Judy and I had to do this with our observation hive 2 weeks ago. Just putting a lot of smoke in the hive while it was closed up did not work. Last March I did an oxalic  treatment to a hive that had Super Swarmed and still had queens piping. The next day they were not piping. The Oxalic disturbed them enough for all the queens to get out.
Jim Altmiller

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 06:41:53 am »

But $20,000.00 worth of damages?

I read the article earlier and my wife laughed as she heard me call out "bull...."...she's hyping it up.

For Sure!   

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HONEYBEE REMOVAL / Re: Expensive Issue

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 06:40:53 am »

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Yep I got the same so I found the report without hassle on. NBC

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by Ben Framed on Today at 06:30:19 am »

Jurassic and NigelP both made good points in my opinion. Mr Bush goes into detail about checker-boarding in his writings., https://bushfarms.com/beesexperiment.htm
When bees are determined to swarm as Nigel described; In my experience pulling the queen with the split usually does the job as bees do two major things, make honey and multiply. By taking the queen when making the split (when they are in a swarming mood, (larva in queen cups or capped queen cells are good indicators) is meant to satisfy the colony which is in a swarm mood situation, settling them down and onward with business as usual.  Perhaps Mr Bush and others will have more to add. 

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by NigelP on Today at 04:02:31 am »

If they are genetically inclined to swarm, all the space in the world won't stop them. The local bees in my area are frequent swarmers, so I don't keep them.

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by The15thMember on Today at 12:18:08 am »

One other thing I forgot to ask about...one of the syrup jars had some black mold in it. Not much, but there was some just the same. How big of an issue is that for them?

I wouldn't be too worried about it personally.  I might change out the syrup, just so it doesn't get out of hand, but mold is really not that big of a deal for bees.  They can even clean it up without any trouble, since their respiratory systems are so different from ours.  I will store 1:1 syrup in the fridge to help it to last longer.  2:1 will be fine at room temp.   

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by Terri Yaki on May 01, 2024, 11:17:13 pm »

OK, thanks for the review. I can add that box easily enough. They have quit taking the syrup for a few days now and I figured that meant it was time to take it off. I'll check with my locals and see what, if anything is flowing. I  do have a big tulip poplar in my front yard and I heard that they are good for the bees and it looks like it is starting to flower. One other thing I forgot to ask about...one of the syrup jars had some black mold in it. Not much, but there was some just the same. How big of an issue is that for them?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: What did you do in your Apiary/Bee yard today?

« Last post by The15thMember on May 01, 2024, 11:09:26 pm »

I don't know, I probably would have given them the second box.  The fact that the brood frames were very full and they were building burr comb indicates to me they want to expand the brood nest.  Bees are sometimes slow to build on the outer frames, especially if they don't want to put brood there, and if the flow isn't really cranking yet, they just may not be inclined to build out more honey frames, but they might like some more room for babies.

If your flow has started, it's perfectly fine to remove their food, but be sure they keep drawing.  A nuc is behind and really needs to build up, and if the flow isn't strong enough to make them draw, you may want to put the feed on them again, at least until they have maybe 2 boxes drawn (or the flow really turns on).  That's what I would do anyway.   

I wouldn't worry too much about seeing eggs if I saw the queen.  It's nice to see both, but one or the other is fine in my book.  Also, it can be a good proactive measure to smoke again when you kill a couple of bees.  That will keep their alarm pheromone from being smelled by the rest of the colony.  I will usually just smoke their bodies to hide the evidence.    

Oh man, that first taste of your own honey!!  It's never as good as when you are eating it off the hive tool.     

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by Bob Wilson on May 01, 2024, 10:53:37 pm »

They are wild stock, originally caught in swarm traps. Small, little bees.
One hive was split by pulling a nuc out of it and leaving the queen with a knocked back population. The other was a pulled nuc, taking the queen also, but two weeks later the queen less hive swarmed. Perhaps virgin swarming.
Just how much empty space do you add at the beginning of the nectar flow?

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GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. / Re: Best swarm prevention

« Last post by JurassicApiary on May 01, 2024, 10:38:47 pm »

Agreed, more info is needed.  As to arrangement, checker boarding works well for making the bees feel less pressured instantly.  That said, some genetic lines are simply highly apt to swarming, regardless of the beekeeper's efforts.  If you've got a hive here or there in residential areas that are hot swarmers, consider relocating them to larger properties so any swarms cast pose less risk to neighbors--they're gonna do their thing whether you like it or not sometimes.