As swarm and maximising honey yield

[fred scuttle]

I've had to As most of my colonies the last few days but wondered in order that honey production isn't affected unduly is it best to recombine the hives after a week or so (making sure I keep the preferred Queen) and does anyone have advice about how to keep the yields up after an As? I'm being told various things by fellow beeks around me locally but wanted to check with the guru's on this forum before making any decision Thanks in advance

 

[oliver90owner]

most

Would that be two or three?

Follow Pagden. Been sorted for you for umpteen years.

Recombining - just think about it a bit. Do you want an old queens or new queens? Is one of those queens laying at the moment? Will the new queen emerge and all get mated? Will the new queen have preferred traits, or be a little bar steward(ess)?

Still think it is a good idea to unite after one week?
You think you will know enough in a week?

 

[Finman]

.
In AS it is important that laying Queen continues laying. It is important that foragers are with queen, in coming pollen encourage brood rearing. If the queen I a small nuc, it is wasting of the queen.

AS cannot forgage long. Bees meet natural death and has brood bind part o gang to be home. So colony needs continuos flow of brood, emerging bees, him bees and foragers.

So. The hive parts, AS and Brood part must be joined to get full yield. And you get it if you have pastures to be foraged.

But if you join too quickly, and there is no flow on, the colony may get again swarming fever.

Nothing odd in AS. Well done if no swarm has escaped. That is the way you get 100 kg honey / hive, if you have that good pastures.
If you loose a swarm, that hive is not able to make surplus any more.

 

[Finman]

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When I have my hives, there are different kind of hives after AS operations.
When I move my hives away from cottage yard to remote pastures, I join such colonies that I get hives, where brood, home bees and foragers are in balance. I make 6 box towers for main yield.

Some are small and I join small hives together to optimize foraging power.

 

[enrico]

You say you did an as a few days ago and you want to combine After a week or so . I take it you will be using the old queen then as the new queen has to emerge and get mated. In which case my bet is they will just swarm again!
Or am I missing something?
E

 

[oliver90owner]

The better by far route is to requeen with a known good laying queen with the required traits, if you want the maximum honey yield, shirley?

Enrico has answered a few of the questions posed in post #2

 

[Finman]

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We are now halfway June. Requeening does not affect on the honey yield of this summer, but the quality of queen is always the basic of next summer's yield.

But I suppose that question was now about handling artificial swarm.
Second is what kind of nectar pastures you have.

.jep. How to get it complex.