Last swarm of the year !!!!!

Monday the 26th of October
We had a call from our swarm collection coordinator.
He says, there's a swarm just down the road from you on the underside of a garden chair.
And sure enough there it was.

I'm unsure whether this was a rescue mission or suicide pact.
However the girls are now in a poly nuc with six drawn frames some with food & stores.
In the eke is a 4 pint rapid feeder on top of the crown board , surrounded by insulation.
The bees are filling 3 seams.

At this point i have no idea if the queen is mated ! and are a touch confused as to why they would swarm at this time of year. i.e. no drones etc..
They seem healthy enough and certainly have the will to live, out foraging the last 3 days.

Any thoughts, help or suggestions very welcome.....

Was it 'hanging out' just down the road, less than 50 metres from your home or your hives?

I'm just wondering aloud as to where it might have come from …

Just down the road in norfolk ,means about 5 miles...
Definitely not from our hives.
I am not aware of any other beekeeper in the area. And in truth the area was fairly bleak,no more than 50 houses a church, village hall and some hedgerows.

Jed D said:

Just down the road in norfolk ,means about 5 miles...

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Jed D said:

Just down the road in norfolk ,means about 5 miles...

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And about an hour if the turnip trailers are out and about !!

Its not mine, and we do not use turnip carts were more up to date we use carrot waggons!!

Actually its time to get beet up, sugar beet season that is.
Must be a flash mansion to have a garden chair.

7am and the bees are flying here, not huge numbers but they are still finding the ivy.

Jed D said:

. And in truth the area was fairly bleak,no more than 50 houses a church, village hall and some hedgerows.

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Normal for Norfolk, you just described most of it.

Wheyhey.......
Just checked our swarm from monday.......
Somewhat taken back to see a full side of eggs, absolutely thrilled

Not sure if this is the right thing to do or not 'but as the weather seems to be turning colder next week ,we've now placed a bag of fondant straight on top of the frames.
This is been surrounded with insulation in a pillowcase.

P.s. My wife has named the queen ginger....

OK so you have a (belated) prime swarm. (Somewhere else there is a colony with almost zero prospect of getting themselves a new Q … don't ever make the mistake of thinking that the bees always know best - they just win more often than they lose.)




To maximise the chances of your new nuc surviving the winter, you could also give them some protein feed. They won't have any stored and with the weather turning worse, they won't be getting out so much. Winter bees need well-developed "fat bodies" which needs protein food (which is why we see so much pollen going in during the Autumn, even though there's not much brood).

And I'd also be mouseguarding them. Warm box, small colony … attractive for Mickey! If its a Paynes polynuc, turning the entrance disc to the QX section would be a start. (I always pin the disc to ensure it can't rotate when I'm not watching.) Doubt the disc plastic would keep Mickey out longterm. I've pinned a short section cut from a standard mouseguard, behind the disc (set to full open) and successfully overwintered those nucs in the past.

Protein food...... would you feed this in the form of a pollen patty.
I'm sure the administrator won't mind if you give me a trade name.
let me know i'll order some.

Jed D said:

Protein food...... would you feed this in the form of a pollen patty.

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Yes, that's what I was meaning. Whether real pollen or substitute entirely your call. The stuff stores like fondant (ages) and if they should happen to have enough of the real (direct from the flowers) stuff, they'll just leave it until they need it.
I've got no particular brand recommendations or warnings …

Just looked at tho##nes and they have some nektapoll....
Sounds like the stuff , never used before ' but got to be a worth a go....

Quick update on our last swarm collection of the year ( as I'm waiting for Th*rnes sale to start )...
We done OA treatment on this Nuc yesterday and they are still going , with 3 seams of Bees......

Poor bees!;15ml of liquid; about 10ml of water; Another 22kJoules of energy the bees will need to generate, to evaporate that water.

RAB

Now I feel mean....
I'll pop and look to see if any Mites has dropped..
This could ease my conscience....

Jed D said:

Now I feel mean

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I wouldn't

Jed D said:

Quick update on our last swarm collection of the year ( as I'm waiting for Th*rnes sale to start )...
We done OA treatment on this Nuc yesterday and they are still going , with 3 seams of Bees......

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Hi Jed, Good to know they are still going. Hope they make it! Mine are still going (collected 31.10 but swarmed three weeks prior to that), but how many I don't know as I haven't treated them as they were all placed on new combs.