Hello everyone. I have a second year hive that looks to be doing well. They seemed to overwinter well and used little of their honey in stores. This spring I did a split (a little too early I think) but robber bees killer the split. I thought the hive (2 Deep Supers with many open frames on top) would have plenty of room after the split.
About 2 weeks ago the hive swarmed/split and flew into a nearby tree. I watched it happen so I know it was from the original hive. I was able to catch it and the new hive seems happy so far.
This week..... I have found two hives in trees right next to the original hive. I have caught both. One was 5 days ago and it seems to be happy in its new box. The second I just caught and so far is staying put in its new box. I am not positive these came from my original hive, but am assuming they are.
So here I am, a guy with four hives out of one in 2 weeks. I guess thats good? I assume I need to take a look around for queen cells in the original hive and need to be way more proactive with that. Do I need to be concerned with the fact that it has swarmed so many times? What else am I doing wrong here? Anything I should do going forward?
About 2 weeks ago the hive swarmed/split and flew into a nearby tree. I watched it happen so I know it was from the original hive. I was able to catch it and the new hive seems happy so far.
This week..... I have found two hives in trees right next to the original hive. I have caught both. One was 5 days ago and it seems to be happy in its new box. The second I just caught and so far is staying put in its new box. I am not positive these came from my original hive, but am assuming they are.
So here I am, a guy with four hives out of one in 2 weeks. I guess thats good? I assume I need to take a look around for queen cells in the original hive and need to be way more proactive with that. Do I need to be concerned with the fact that it has swarmed so many times? What else am I doing wrong here? Anything I should do going forward?