[tikkay]

I’ve recently been given opportunity to manage 2 hives for a friend this summer. I was able to look at them yesterday.

Both are in 3 deeps. Top deep full of honey and lower two serving as brood chambers. One swarmed around May 20, has a new Queen that hasn’t started laying yet.

The other hive has just started making swarm cells. Queen is still laying but certainly slowing her pace.
The blackberries have just started blooming.
I’m hoping to take advantage of the honey flow without having the hive swarm. I cut out all swarm cells I could find but know it’s hard to find them all. Most just had an egg in them. A couple had RJ in them but not far along.
I took the top deep off each hive and replaced with 2 honey supers with foundation and no Queen excluder.

I’m wondering what my best course of action should be? Thank you

 

[beemandan]

Next time you see swarm cells, find the queen and pinch. Leave two or three swarm cells that are adjacent to one another.
If you prefer not to pinch the queen, remove her with some bees and a frame of capped brood and a frame with honey and put into a nuc box.

 

[trottet1]

>If you prefer not to pinch the queen, remove her with some bees and a frame of capped brood and a frame with honey and put into a nuc box


This is the approach I take. In fact, 5 hives in one yard this year. I was fortunate to find all the queens and pull them. I noticed that the then queenless hives that were awaiting new queens, were really packing away honey. I don't know if it was because they didn't have new brood to take care of and feed or if there was just an exceptional flow. Maybe both.

 

[tikkay]

Seems simple enough.

They make a new Queen and swarming danger is over?

They don’t want to swarm with new Queen?

 

[trottet1]

Yes. By removing the queen and making a nuc with her, the hive already thinks it swarmed. No queen, no swarm. You just broke the swarm "mode". Just keep an eye on your supers. If they start filling up, add 1. You may notice that the hive bodies get very heavy during the re queen process. They will eventually move the open nectar up into your supers to make room for the new queen to lay.

 

[beemandan]

They don’t want to swarm with new Queen?

One of the strongest deterrents to swarming is a young queen.
The younger the better.

 

[tikkay]

One of the strongest deterrents to swarming is a young queen.
The younger the better.

Yes. I just didn’t realize it was that easy to circumvent a swarm once they put it into motion.

What if one were to just cut out swarm cells and requeen with a fresh Queen?
I guess there is danger of missing a cell and losing your fresh Queen?

I’m not going to do that. Just curious. Thanks.

 

[beemandan]

What if one were to just cut out swarm cells and requeen with a fresh Queen?

They often prefer a queen of their own making even instead of a fully mated introduced queen.
You can remove the old queen and then cut out the swarm cells. Then go back in a week and cut out any emergency cells which will make them hopelessly queenless. At that point they will usually take anything they can get.