[gman1001]

Posted the same msg in the general forum, and I just found this swarm forum.

I've had 3 swarms from my 2nd year hive in the past 3 weeks. Italians all mediums. What the heck. I caught all three swarms. All were enormous big heavy.

Going into the source hive today to see how many are left - can't be much. Any thoughts on how to manage this ravaged hive? Just let it bee? Buy a queen?

 

[GaryG74]

Go into the source hive and see if there are any queen cells left. If there are either destroy all but the best looking one or make some splits if you have the extra equipment (this would be my choice-I hate destroying queen cells). They will probably keep swarming as long as there is more than one queen cell left. You could try adding a medium and mixing drawn comb with the other comb to give them more room. If the topmost medium if full of nectar/honey (or the second and topmost) they think they are out of room and swarm. Good luck with the hive!

 

[gman1001]

Tx! Question. What if there is already a live queen (virgin\non-virgin) in that swarm hive. Assuming there is a live queen in the hive, if I leave 1 queen cell will I be creating another swarm, just down the road after the queen cell hatches?