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Winning the battle against swarms

  • 1 Jul 2022 8:24 PM
    Message # 12835896

    I wish I knew this seven years ago or even seven weeks ago!

    I learned about artificial swarms from another beekeeper but what I learned was not the best way of doing an artificial swarm.

    What I've been having people do is move the queen and several frames of bees that didn't have queen cells on them into a box and another apiary. Well, that is exactly what happens when bees swarms. But the bees left behind with the queen cells then swarm anyway with a virgin queen.  So you have still lost bees and sometimes lots of bees depending on how big the colony was.

    From youtube videos on artificial swarms I learned a much better way.  When you find a frame with a swarm cell you set up a new hive box just four feet away and move it and the bees on it into the new hive box.  If you have a frame and don't see swarm cells, shake the bees off and check carefully.  It's the only way to be sure you got every frame with cells or queen cups with larva.  Only those swarm frames get moved (with their bees, if possible).  The queen and all the rest of the bees are right where they were. The main reason this works is that ALL the foragers are going to the original spot where the queen is.

    Here's the greatness of the idea.  The box with the swarm cell frames has no foragers. So when those queen cells hatch they can't swarm.  There's only nurse bees in that box.  It takes foragers to lead the swarm. Nurse bees just tag along.

    So you've done a split but more importantly you've saved your colony from swarming.  Do move some food frames into the swarm comb box. By the time the swarm cells appear there's usually lots of honey frames that can be moved.

    Also you still need to go in every six or seven days to check for new swarm cells.  But it's very possible that you've moved four or five frames with swarm cells to the new hive and that, in and of itself, decreases their desire to swarm. Plus you've put an equal amount of new frames in the original hive. Doesn't matter whether they're drawn or undrawn. It gives them space and work to do.

    I just did this new method on one of my hives.  Check yours tomorrow. You can still save you colony from swarming!


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