Swarming twice in one season!

[Jimmys Mum]

Is it just me and my swarmy strain of bees?....Probably

I've now got three hives which were all successfully artificially swarmed using the Pagden method in April/May. Now the little devils are building swarm cells all over again, despite having fresh new 2014 queens! I do have a shortage of drawn comb but I have been throwing foundation and new supers on to the hives at a rate of knots to try and ensure plenty of space, although I appreciate foundation does not equate to space in a bees eyes.

There's also been a little flurry of swarm calls locally again this week - not mine thank goodness. Is anyone else finding this?

I had hoped all of this was over and I could just sit and watch the supers stacking up......... Ho-hum.

 

[TryingToLetThemBee]

I had a colony that threw swarms on 19 May and 22 June. I did not keep the QCs the second time...

 

[Erichalfbee]

A cast swarm arrived into a bait hive on 18th May hived in a 14 x 12 swarmed again on 2nd July.
I have both colonies. The parent has been requeened and the swarm will be united with another colony at the end of the season.

 

[Cazza]

Is it just me and my swarmy strain of bees?....Probably

No, I think it's the weather. I have never had this happen before until this year.
Cazza

 

[The Riviera Kid]

I just logged on to report the same problem! I have two colonies at it and they're from different blood lines so it's perhaps not genetic.

I had another colony do the same at the end of June. I knocked off the queen cells and they swarmed anyway, without leaving a queen cell of any kind (sealed or unsealed).

I'm going to go through and take the queens out and put them in a nuc and let them carry on laying, let the colony begin to raise a new queen, then, when she's about to hatch, knock the cell off and reunite the nuc (with all the eggs the queen has been laying meantime) back with it.

I don't want to lose these queens as they're excellent foragers...

 

[galileo]

yep, same here, but they have been thwarted. some of them are now starting to contract their brood nests and have given up making qcs. I'm going to drop them down to 14 day inspections and focus on the tykes that seem intent on going for it. I think it's a combination of a roaring start to the season and long dry spells thereafter.

 

[BeeJayBee]

We've had several swarms reported during the past week, so it looks as if you aren't alone in getting a second 'swarm season' this year.