Swarms ????

[andyphibb]

Good afternoon all, Just wondering have your hives started to prep for swarming and if so what part of the country your in? Here in south wales I have only heard of a few swarms at the moment.

 

[snelgrove]

mine are just starting in coastal north east england, expect them to peak in two weeks. swarm in June worth a silver spoon

 

[enrico]

East Wales, west Shropshire, doing as's already as queen cells are in hives.
E

 

[Fatbee]

In full swarming flow in North Bucks - started last week at the tail end of that warmer spell. Plenty of laying space because I go excluderless - think mine are just quite swarmy

 

[Levitt53]

Seem to be lots in Cambridgeshire too, including mine :-(

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

been finding QC's for a fortnight or more

 

[dpearce4]

I had a few try and swarm over the last couple of weeks but the weather keeps going downhill each time so they haven't and I have found the queens just in time and done the AS for them.

I think I have lost 1 swarm so far tho from a TBH where I couldn't find the queen so she wasn't clipped. I might be wrong I will wait and see tho.

Have only had 1 call and that was back in april so not many swarms this year down here yet.

 

[sahtlinurk]

captured two swarms and AS'd two of my own colonies.

 

[Magwat]

No swarm preps here yet though my neighbour lost a swarm a fortnight ago. I have split my strongest colonies to hopefully dissuade them.

 

[JWF]

One of mine swarmed two weeks ago, and I split the other two at the weekend. I've destroyed in excess of 40 QCs across the three hives I think.

 

[beeno]

No honey bee swarm calls and no QCs yet, but strong colonies so... it could happen, but I did have some late supersedure queens.

 

[Motobiman]

Here in the club apiary in Sussex we've only had one very forward poly hive colony swarm (we think).

We were ready to do a split but couldn't find the clipped queen (oh how we searched for her) but there were unsealed eggs and lots of bees.

Loads of QCs too so we did the split anyway. (Wonder now if we mignt have taken two splits).

Parent colony on brood and a half is still booming (we haven't disturbed them yet, that's one of this weekends jobs) with three supers on already and the Nuc should have a nice new queen, if we got the right QC.

Rest of the hives seem to be struggling to get going this year.

 

[SixFooter]

No calls so far. No bumble bee calls either. Lots of rapeseed around so I expect the next sunny day will be a swarmy day.

 

[dpearce4]

its started today. 2 collected.

 

[birdsandbees]

Split one of my own, added extra space and removed QC's from another and so far had three call outs to swarms, all three only small fist sized casts though, I'm yet to be called to a decent sized one!
Interestingly, it appears the last two were from the same source, a Beek of three years who when I asked why she seemed hell bent on seeding the countryside with her bees said 'she didn't know what to do to stop them as she had added an extra super above the QXcluder already!
I thanked her for the free bees and dispensed some advice before leaving

 

[newbeeinbromley]

Collected one earlier in the week. They were inside a car bonnet and the queen with 4 workers were on the floor next to it. Easy peasy!


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[For want of a better word]

Two today... not from mine as squat little yellow beesties... will take to isolation apiary tomorrow, allow one brood cycle to check for disease... and then cull the 'orrible yella queens and use workers to make up nucs for decent queens with the offspring! Filtering off drones with a qe.

Nos da

 

[BeeJayBee]

Three calls today, but I wasn't at home so they left messages on the infernal machine that doesn't work properly. I hope they called somebody else as well!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Not had a call out for a swarm for years, over ten years at least, had a couple for bumble bees or wasps though.

 

[Loubee7]

My bees are up to mischief, queen cells, have done AS and also one of my hives swarmed which I have then recaught- so must have missed a QC. These two hives- the queens are related-caught from previous swarms last year-feel like they are more swarmy than my other hives!