[Robbin]

With each segment being two frames, one honey, one brood with a queen, I would think it would be very likely to swarm.
Does the fact that they have first year queens stop them from swarming? If not, how do you stop them?

 

[BeeCurious]

Once you have a laying queen, the "Queen Castle" has served its purpose. The frames would be moved to a nuc box or the queen will be introduced to another hive.

 

[Robbin]

I was hoping to save some of the queens as emergancy queens. I can buy a couple more nuc bodies for that if I have to, but I'd like to do it in the queen castle.

 

[BeeCurious]

I was hoping to save some of the queens as emergancy queens. I can buy a couple more nuc bodies for that if I have to, but I'd like to do it in the queen castle.

It sounds like you have (or are talking about) a deep frame Queen Castle; they have 4 two-frame sections. You can pull dividers to increase to four frames. So you will essentially have two 4-frame nucs. From there you will want to move into a full size box.

Otherwise you will need to remove brood on a consistent basis to prevent swarming.

 

[BeeCurious]

Queen Castles add a lot of fun to keeping bees.

Having nuc equipment is really handy too.

 

[Robbin]

Thanks BeeCurious, that was the idea I was looking for. I can take several for immediate use, and turn the castle into two 4 frame nucs.

 

[BeeCurious]

Thanks BeeCurious, that was the idea I was looking for. I can take several for immediate use, and turn the castle into two 4 frame nucs.

Absolutely. And as your bee addiction grows so will the number of queen castles... I remember how happy I was when I received my first. Then, two years later I built a second.

I now have two castles and three queen tenements.

Be careful...

And have fun!

 

[rkereid]

The smaller the split, nuc, or queen castle is, the more attention it needs. Once the queen starts laying and fills it with bees and honey, they will swarm even late in the season.

 

[beedeetee]

I have never had a problem with swarming in my queen castles. I do remove the slides and I made mine 3 frame compartments, but the problem that I have had is that they stuff them full of brood and honey making the frames and slides difficult to remove. They have even added comb to the sides of the slides.