BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER > TOP BAR HIVES - WARRE HIVES - LONG HIVES
Long hives swarming before honey flow.
Ben Framed:
> Benframed,
I have seen that Binnie video. The bad thing is that in February I did just as he suggested and equalized resources from the gangbuster hive into the two weaker hives...which then made them bigger and now they have made queen cells too. (A good video, though)
Wow Bob the good news is you may have accidentally found yourself to be a bee raising champion! All I can say is keep up the good work and sell those Nucs!
:wink:
Ben Framed:
--- Quote from: The15thMember on March 22, 2021, 11:16:33 am ---I'm sure others will respond with strategies to prevent swarming but not grow a yard. I am approaching this point, although I'm not quite there yet, but I'm also curious to know some answers to these questions. I think something that is helpful to remember though, is that just giving bees space won't always prevent swarming. It's spring and healthy colonies are desirous to reproduce, and with colonies like this there may come a point where no amount of adding space will discourage a colony from throwing up queen cells. So just because they are swarming even though you are giving them space, doesn't necessarily mean you are doing something wrong, Bob. In fact the opposite is sort of true, your colonies are healthy and strong enough to reproduce, which is a good thing, just an inconvenience for you and your neighbors. Hopefully more experienced members will respond with some concrete advice.
--- End quote ---
Good analysis Member... I think you are right his hives are healthy and robust.
Acebird:
--- Quote from: The15thMember on March 22, 2021, 11:16:33 am ---In fact the opposite is sort of true, your colonies are healthy and strong enough to reproduce,
--- End quote ---
Are they? I think some bees are horn toads and do foolish things. Beekeepers for hundreds of years have been breeding bees to be gentle, make honey, and not swarm. All natural instincts are not good for the beekeeper and sometimes not good for the bees. Bees that swarm, swarm, swarm are destined to die off but the genetics carry on.
Bob Wilson:
It is true that all these colonies came from the same hive that swarmed several times last year, the hive which itself I caught as a feral swarm.
But I tend to think my swarming complaints are just an excuse for still not understanding how to manage them.
The15thMember:
--- Quote from: Bob Wilson on March 22, 2021, 02:29:43 pm ---1. BROODNEST CONJESTION- I opened up the nest so the queen could lay, but the mass of bees in the back 15 deep frames had to crawl though the first 15 frames (broodnest) closest to the entrance to get out. Perhaps it wasn't queen laying congestion so much as entrance movement and these long boxes needing a back entrance. Do standard hives with three deep boxes have a bottom entrance AND and top entrance?
2. VENTILATION- I tend to think that a 4X.5 inch entrance is good all year, especially in March. Bees move air in their hives. I have beespace bottom, sides, and top of the frames, but the boxes are four feet long. Maybe I need to put a vent hole in the back.
--- End quote ---
1. I run all mediums, but even when my hives are 6 or 7 boxes tall I only have a bottom entrance.
2. I do have a lot of ventilation in my hives. This is a topic of much debate, since obviously bees in the wild don't have much ventilation at all in most instances, but I have my entrances fully open in the summer, and I use screened bottom boards and inner covers. If I don't, I have too much mold trouble. Right now I've got the 4 inch openings on the entrance reducers and solid covers on, but I do have the bottom boards opened. As far as how that affects swarming, I have no idea.
--- Quote from: Acebird on March 22, 2021, 06:28:39 pm ---
--- Quote from: The15thMember on March 22, 2021, 11:16:33 am ---In fact the opposite is sort of true, your colonies are healthy and strong enough to reproduce,
--- End quote ---
Are they? I think some bees are horn toads and do foolish things. Beekeepers for hundreds of years have been breeding bees to be gentle, make honey, and not swarm. All natural instincts are not good for the beekeeper and sometimes not good for the bees. Bees that swarm, swarm, swarm are destined to die off but the genetics carry on.
--- End quote ---
--- Quote from: Bob Wilson on March 22, 2021, 07:17:29 pm ---It is true that all these colonies came from the same hive that swarmed several times last year, the hive which itself I caught as a feral swarm.
But I tend to think my swarming complaints are just an excuse for still not understanding how to manage them.
--- End quote ---
Obviously it would be important in a subdivision to try and propagate bees that are minimal swarmers, for your ease of management and the comfort of your neighbors. No one wants bees that swarm themselves to death every year. All I meant was that swarming is a normal process for bees, and that everyone has to work against the grain to deal with it, especially when colonies come off the winter strong.
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