Accommodation for my new swarm

[Obee1]

I caught a swarm yesterday. As its my first one I have no idea whether it is small medium or large. It weighs 2 1/2 pounds. I captured it in a correx travelling/nuc box and transported it 10 miles to my garden. So my plan is to house it in a Maisie's poly nuc. I want to use this swarm primarily for comb drawing so they will be given foundation and fed 1:1 sugar water. Haven't managed to spot the queen yet as there were so many bees but when I left them to finish walking into the collecting box they all gathered in a cluster at the top/ back corner. Maybe queen was in that cluster.

Is it best to dump them in the new box or walk them in - The weather isn't warm and sunny don't know if that makes a difference. Does time of day matter?
will a 6 frame poly nuc be too big without dummying down?
Is there any need to treat them for varroa before brood appear?

Obee

 

[nantmoel]

Swarm

I always 'dump' them in the new box! at least this way you know they are in there! I also always feed a swarm to temp them to stay in their new home, I also place a queen excluder (if you have a spare) on top of the floor, this stops the swarm and the queen flying off, leave this in place for a few days.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

Don't bother with this nonsense of walking them in - take out all the frames apart from one at eack end - shake all the bees in then gently put the frames on top of the pile and they will settle down as the bees spread on to the foundation. As for time of day -I'd just get them in ASAP. But remember it won't be too long before they outgrow the nuc.

 

[dexter's shed]

why didn't you simply collect them in the poly nuc, would have saved having to transfer them yet again, dumping always runs the risk of damaging the queen, walking runs the risk of them flying off, it's down to you, but whatever you decide, do it sooner rather than later as they will start building, no need to dummy down poly nucs

 

[Obee1]

why didn't you simply collect them in the poly nuc, would have saved having to transfer them yet again, dumping always runs the risk of damaging the queen, walking runs the risk of them flying off, it's down to you, but whatever you decide, do it sooner rather than later as they will start building, no need to dummy down poly nucs

I took my poly nuc with me but the place they swarmed did not allow for the thickness of the walls of the poly to tuck behind them. I did try! I will go out and dump them asap in the middle of the poly with frames either side. I hope they don't mind I had no time to paint the poly before they move in. Had a nice shade of pink picked out! Thank goodness that order from Maisie's arrived. Just in time it seems

 

[oliver90owner]

will a 6 frame poly nuc be too big without dummying down?

If you don't how big the swarm was, how on earth do you expect anyone else to know the answer? There are tables of estimates for bees per unit weight that you could look up. You might knock off about ten percent or so for transported honey stores? How accurate your weight estimate is might be another error to consider. Could be either. I have never yet dummied down a six frame polynuc - especially at this time of the year. Give them a frame or two of drawn comb or stores if they are not filling the space. Much simpler.

 

[allotment-bee]

I took my poly nuc with me but the place they swarmed did not allow for the thickness of the walls of the poly to tuck behind them. I did try! I will go out and dump them asap in the middle of the poly with frames either side. I hope they don't mind I had no time to paint the poly before they move in. Had a nice shade of pink picked out! Thank goodness that order from Maisie's arrived. Just in time it seems

Why does the nuc need painting? I`ve just plonked the swarm in.

 

[Obee1]

will a 6 frame poly nuc be too big without dummying down?

If you don't how big the swarm was, how on earth do you expect anyone else to know the answer? There are tables of estimates for bees per unit weight that you could look up. You might knock off about ten percent or so for transported honey stores? How accurate your weight estimate is might be another error to consider. Could be either. I have never yet dummied down a six frame polynuc - especially at this time of the year. Give them a frame or two of drawn comb or stores if they are not filling the space. Much simpler.

I know exactly how much it weighed. 2.5 lbs cos I weighed it. I did not know there were tables that estimate bee weight per unit. As I stated its my first swarm. No idea if it would be considered tiny or large. It was clustered on a sphere of concrete so very difficult to judge by size. Hence the thought that other experienced swarm catchers may advise me from its weight. Though why I'm justifying my post to you I have no idea.

 

[Obee1]

Why does the nuc need painting? I`ve just plonked the swarm in.

They are meant to be painted for uv protection. And I want it to look pretty cos I look at it out of my window everyday.
Painting can wait though. They are now in the nuc with one frame of comb and five of foundation.

 

[oliver90owner]

I did-not know there were tables that estimate bee weight per unit

I didnt say that. Read it again!

2 1/2 to any scientist might mean 2 or 3. So now it is between 2.4 and 2.6 lbs. Might as well go metric. So much easier.

 

[Finman]

.
Keep it simple. It is almost 1 kg. It occupyes 5-6 langstroth frames. If depends how warm is the box. Do not keep meshfloor.

Feed to it 2 kg sugar as syrup that it makes combs ready. 30% syrup.

.

 

[Obee1]

.
Keep it simple. It is almost 1 kg. It occupyes 5-6 langstroth frames. If depends how warm is the box. Do not keep meshfloor.

Feed to it 2 kg sugar as syrup that it makes combs ready. 30% syrup.

.

Thank you finny. Yes they do weigh roughly a kilo ( though for RAB 's sake I will reiterate. They weigh exactly 2 lbs 8 oz.)I have closed off mesh floor. I thought feeding for wax drawing was equal sugar to water. You say one third sugar to water? I only have the small circular entrance hole open in the poly nuc. Will that be enough ventilation.

 

[Finman]

30% syrup means that volume is bigger and it takes to bees longer time to dry up the syrup. So they are forced to draw longer cell walls. At the end they do not have so much capped sugar as with 50% syrup.

.I have used 20% syrup and works well. Bees tend to store 50% syrup and cap it.


If you get another same size swarm, join them. You get a good colony. But summer is young. 6 frame will grow ok.

 

[Finman]

? I only have the small circular entrance hole open in the poly nuc. Will that be enough ventilation.

That size of colony need about 2x3cm hole open. When you feed syrup, bees ventilate moisture off from hive. That in day temp which is under 20C . But in a week they have done their combs. Take feeding off.

 

[Obee1]

That size of colony need about 2x3cm hole open. When you feed syrup, bees ventilate moisture off from hive. That in day temp which is under 20C . But in a week they have done their combs. Take feeding off.

As its a poly nuc fron Maisie it has only one hole and I don't want to make a bigger one. Should I uncover a little of the mesh floor on the bottom?


http://www.bees-online.co.uk/view.asp?ID=1399

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

It's a nuc - they won't be in there that long - the open hole supplied is sufficient. Cover the mesh floor for a few days (it helps a swarm settle better) I find they cope well enough after that

 

[Obee1]

It's a nuc - they won't be in there that long - the open hole supplied is sufficient. Cover the mesh floor for a few days (it helps a swarm settle better) I find they cope well enough after that

Thanks jbm. Just looking out the window at them now. Lots of em clustered round entrance . And in the words of our finny.... I'm off to lidl now.

 

[oliver90owner]

No such thing as exactly. There is always an error tolerance of at least plus or minus one division. Any sane scientist would never quote a result without an error range. Metric is so much more useful. Pounds and ounces are old hat, overtaken by progress. Inches are useful for hobby engineers building scaled models of old Imperial items where the blueprints were in feet and inches. 10:1 is not a popular scale for that.

Next, you will be trying to tell me the average of one and two is one and a half. Now that would be real rubbish.

 

[Obee1]

No such thing as exactly. There is always an error tolerance of at least plus or minus one division. Any sane scientist would never quote a result without an error range. Metric is so much more useful. Pounds and ounces are old hat, overtaken by progress. Inches are useful for hobby engineers building scaled models of old Imperial items where the blueprints were in feet and inches. 10:1 is not a popular scale for that.

Next, you will be trying to tell me the average of one and two is one and a half. Now that would be real rubbish.

“Am I bothered? Am I bothered though. I ain't doing nothing cause I ain't bothered.”

 

[Finman]

.
A beekeeper should be able to put a swarm into hive. It I not so difficult....
Because a swarm can go into hive itself, it should not be difficult to help bees go in.