My swarm where do I put them?

1594 Views 6 Replies 6 Participants Last post by shughes, May 3, 2010

Oberlinmom

Discussion Starter · May 2, 2010

Came home today to find a whirlwind of bees in my neighbors yard. It was so exciting, had my daughter come out and stand it with me. She wasn't too comfortable but I think she'll remember it for a long time.
They swarmed into a tree about 8 foot off the ground. I got my equipment out there and snagged them all once they'd clumped. Now my question. I'm assuming they were my bees. Where should I put this new hive in my yard so they don't decide that they need to travel further?
If this is the hive I think it is I'd tried to convince them they had swarmed by removing a split worth off frames and queen cells. Then dumped them out side the hive and let them all walk in, including the queen. My other hives aren't as full and had no queen cells as of last week.
So the girls have already "swarmed" once this is number two, or a real swarm. Is there any formula on where I should set this hive now or will it make a difference? :s

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pom51

· #2 · May 2, 2010

I also caught a swarm last week off my hive I just put them in a box and moved them 50 feet from where they came from all seem well

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Monie

· #3 · May 2, 2010

It doesn't matter. Put them in a new hive with a frame of brood and a frame of honey, plug the entrance with some grass, and give them at least a day to get used to their new home.

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Mike Gillmore

· #4 · May 3, 2010

Oberlinmom said:
.. tried to convince them they had swarmed by removing a split worth off frames and queen cells. Then dumped them out side the hive and let them all walk in, including the queen. :s

I'm not sure I understand what you did here. Could you elaborate for me.

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bigbore

· #5 · May 3, 2010

Mike, I think I have seen it posted and discussed as a forced swarm condition. Removal of the brood and most nurse bees to simulate swarm action. Place these in a new hive and let queen and workers return home. Then they recomend relocating queen colony to new location and force reorientation. I have heard of about a 60% success if done early enough. If cell were near capped it fell to almost 0%. But it can help w/ increases I guess.

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Oberlinmom

Discussion Starter · #6 · May 3, 2010

It's in Richard Taylor's book The How-to-do-it Book of Beekeeping He has several options to prevent swarming and I did a very quick read. Like I told my husband after I made my adjustments, I better go reread the books and see what I did wrong. :doh:
I started out to give her more room. They were filling the hive with nectar (same hive last year was honey bound early) I removed several frames of nectar, brood, pollen when I saw a couple of capped queen cells. So I shifted those to a new hive with the rest of the full frames.
Then, working from memory, after I'd replaced the full frames with empties I shook as many bees as I could out on a table cloth ramp I'd made back into the hive. I made sure the queen made the hike too. Guess she didn't think it was enough.

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shughes

· #7 · May 3, 2010

if you can move them a mile away i find that is best but if you don't have two bee yards that can be impractical and just add extra work.

I place a queen includer on my swarms for at least a day. If I suspect the queen is a virgin queen then I leave the includer on for a day. If I am fairly certain the queen is the old queen that left in the primary swarm I will leave the includer on for 2-3 days or until I start to see the wax flakes falling on the ground from their drawing wax efforts.

Regardless of the method used to keep the queen in for a while till they settle, make sure you slide the top back so the vent hole is not exposed and there is no holes in your IPM bottom board. It does not take much of a hole for a queen to escape since she is smaller from her "swarm diet" so she can fly. Ask me how I know

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