If it's a genuine "Swarm box" ala Alley or Smith, then you usually pull the cells out the next day after you put them in and put them in a hive and dump the bees from the swarm box at the entrance to let them join the colony. If you don't let them out in about 24 hours, they usually die from lack of water. And that's if you leave them a sponge soaked in water for their water supply or spray a lot of water in the cells (Smith method) to give them water.
Alley didn't even start the cells in the swarm box, he just used it to get them in the mood to rear queens.
i have two genuine swarm boxes i "inherited". i closed up and fed syrup and patties to about five pounds of bees, a dequeened swarm and a few frames of nurse bees. after about twenty four hours i added fifteen cups with larva. it looks like most of them are getting built out after another twenty four hours. i've let the bees out and will probably see if they will also finish them. if they drift they will go to queen right nucs that can use the boost. thanks for the links/refresher. i've read and appreciated you're classic reprints but it seems that until i've done the activity i don't completely get it.
i understand that the swarm box is a starter hive and the cells are moved to a finisher after about twenty four hours.
it looks like the finisher can be queen right, is that correct? if so does it need an excluder between the queen and cells?
has anyone had experiance letting a "swarm/starter" finish the cells?
strangegardner sezs:
it looks like the finisher can be queen right, is that correct?
tecumseh replies:
the starter or the finisher can be queen right.
with finishing in the swarm box you just need to make certain the box maintain numbers and has a bit of a dribble of feed to maintain itself during the time period required (about 10 days).
with finishing in the swarm box you just need to make certain the box maintain numbers and has a bit of a dribble of feed to maintain itself during the time period required (about 10 days).[/QUOTE]
thanks for the reply! i'm doing what you describe. there are only five cells being built out but they seem to have quite a bit of white wax so i'm hoping to end up with a few finished queens by yours truly. i'm already looking forward to continueing next year.
i've heard a poet/farmer say if you open a farmer up you will find them to be full of next years. i think the same can be said of beekeepers.
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