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Author Topic: walk-away splits  (Read 2991 times)

Offline Bali Beek

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walk-away splits
« on: January 24, 2019, 07:15:37 pm »
I keep A Cerana in Bali and am new to beekeeping. I was advised to do a split to avoid swarm situation and all was going well with new queen nearing her time for mating flights but on the 6th day after she emerged they absconded. I was told that it happened because there was no capped brood left. With bees emerging after 21 days and the new queen starting to lay eggs after 30 days is this not going to happen with "walk-away splits " every time? Can this situation be avoided?

Offline herbhome

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Re: walk-away splits
« Reply #1 on: January 24, 2019, 09:09:36 pm »
I have no experience with ceranae but I think your problem could be handled by swapping a frame with a frame of eggs/brood from the queenright hive. :smile:
Neill

Offline jalentour

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Re: walk-away splits
« Reply #2 on: January 26, 2019, 11:21:55 am »
My experience is a new hive is unlikely to swarm unless it is over crowded.

If you add eggs/brood from another hive try to get the newest egg/brood you can, old brood is not very helpful.

Offline SiWolKe

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Re: walk-away splits
« Reply #3 on: January 26, 2019, 04:03:32 pm »
I keep A Cerana in Bali and am new to beekeeping. I was advised to do a split to avoid swarm situation and all was going well with new queen nearing her time for mating flights but on the 6th day after she emerged they absconded. I was told that it happened because there was no capped brood left. With bees emerging after 21 days and the new queen starting to lay eggs after 30 days is this not going to happen with "walk-away splits " every time? Can this situation be avoided?

I have no experience with cerana, but what you posted reminds me of beekeeping in times of multiplying colonies by allowing them to swarm.

Then, if a hive was crowded and in swarm urge (season) the beekeepers fed sugar water to start a backfilling of broodnest.
Then they watched the hives and if they saw a hive staying in the skep ( no boxes then) despite a good flow they fixed a swarm net in front of the entrance and catched the absconding bees.
These they hanged in a tree and waited until there was a clustering. This cluster they left for one day and night, shaded) and then put them into a new skep ( box).

Myself I had a swarm absconding in my yard one day and what made me curious was there was no activity on a good flow day.
It seemed as if the bees discussed among themselves inside the box, whereas the other?s foraged like crazy.
Suddenly they came out to gather in the nearest tree.

Maybe this story gives you some ideas?

Offline Bali Beek

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Re: walk-away splits
« Reply #4 on: January 27, 2019, 07:18:22 am »
Thanks for you replies. I had the answer to my question in the reading on how to do the WA split. It stated that the queenless bees will stay in the hive while it has brood. I didn't think to look at the flipside of that statement i.e. they will abscond if no brood. Am loving my new hobby.  :grin:

 

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