Is my hive about to swarm?

657 Views 3 Replies 3 Participants Last post by BurleyBee, Jul 22, 2019

BurleyBee

Discussion Starter · #1 · Jul 21, 2019

I was unable to find my marked queen on 1 of my hives yesterday. It’s 2 deeps full of bees with a deep super almost completely filled. The bees were super calm as I went through and although there was quite a bit backflow, there still seemed to be quite a bit of capped brood, young larva and some eggs. There were a few swarm cells however. So now I’m puzzled. Could it be I just overlooked queen? Is there too much back fill and hive wanting to swarm? How should I handle this situation?

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burns375

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Joined Jul 15, 2013

3,298 Posts

#2 · Jul 22, 2019 (Edited)

Were they cups or active cells with Jelly? THis is very important because many newbies screw this up.

In my area its really late for swarms but if you have an unusually late nectar source or are feeding them then its totally possible. In Louisville April-May is peak season, after the 1st week in June its over but some swarms can still occur. Any newly made hives will really struggle to grow during dearth.