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19 Posts
Hello everyone,
I have been doing a lot of removals this spring/summer.
First off i have 17 hives that i have had for the past 2 years. This year i and my partner decided to do swarm removals.
When we remove them we take them back to our apiary and re hive out of the beevac and into a hive body. We put "wax" frames in the hive box along with any wax and brood?honey frames we get from the cut out. We also keep them "locked" up for 48 to 72 hours with an inside feeder of sugar water and an outside feeder of just water. We put a "pollen" patty on top of the frames along with a few drops of "lemon grass oil". After 2/4 days we turn them lose (open the hive entrance) with the small entrance opening and walk away. We check on them every so often and see activity at the entrance. Then for some unknown reason after about 7-10 days when we check on them they have swarmed away from our quarantined area. This has happened to 8 of the last cut outs we have done.
Does anyone out there have any ideas why???
Frank
Texas Bee Wranglers
I have been doing a lot of removals this spring/summer.
First off i have 17 hives that i have had for the past 2 years. This year i and my partner decided to do swarm removals.
When we remove them we take them back to our apiary and re hive out of the beevac and into a hive body. We put "wax" frames in the hive box along with any wax and brood?honey frames we get from the cut out. We also keep them "locked" up for 48 to 72 hours with an inside feeder of sugar water and an outside feeder of just water. We put a "pollen" patty on top of the frames along with a few drops of "lemon grass oil". After 2/4 days we turn them lose (open the hive entrance) with the small entrance opening and walk away. We check on them every so often and see activity at the entrance. Then for some unknown reason after about 7-10 days when we check on them they have swarmed away from our quarantined area. This has happened to 8 of the last cut outs we have done.
Does anyone out there have any ideas why???
Frank
Texas Bee Wranglers