What next?

[allotment-bee]

My oh has just rushed of and collected a swarm to prevent it being killed.Its about the size of a rugby ball.
He collected it in a poly-nuc,and has put it in our out-apiery with the small vent open.
I would like eventually to unite with a weak hive,but can`t find the queen in said hive.
Tomorrow I thought we could get a frame feeder and put a couple of pulled out frames in the nuc.
Is this he right thing to do? This is our first swarm.

 

[Thymallus]

Give it a few days before adding any feed or drawn foundation. Let them turn any honey they have brought with them into wax. It decreases the chance of them getting any disease they may have brought with them. Feed and they may store any diseased honey they brought with them in the comb. Probably unlikely, but worth holding back for 2-3 days as a precaution.

 

[dexter's shed]

I always feed swarms after 2 days with the internal feeder in poly nuc, then walk away and leave alone for 3 weeks, gives virgin queens time to mate and start laying,

 

[allotment-bee]

Well, oh checked the nuc this morning, and changed the opening to queen excluder mode.

How can we tell if the swarm is prime or cast though? If its cast, we will need to change the opening again to let her fly.

Sorry, but very new to this beekeeping lark.

 

[wessexmario]

you only need keep the queen in for a day or two to persuade the swarm that this is home and not to abscond.
Then take the QX off so that if she's a virgin queen she can fly out to mate.

 

[pargyle]

Well, oh checked the nuc this morning, and changed the opening to queen excluder mode.

How can we tell if the swarm is prime or cast though? If its cast, we will need to change the opening again to let her fly.

Sorry, but very new to this beekeeping lark.

Put the opening back to normal mode ... having it in QE mode at this stage does nothing .. You need to leave them for a week or so and then check to see if there is brood/eggs you will then know if you have a mated queen. Prior to seeing capped worker cells you really don't know what you have.

What have you put in the nuc for them to work ? Frames with foundation or drawn comb ... feeding them a couple of litres after a couple of days will help them draw comb as stated above. They will draw comb quickly if you have a mated queen as they will want her laying ...

 

[dexter's shed]

Well, oh checked the nuc this morning, and changed the opening to queen excluder mode.

How can we tell if the swarm is prime or cast though? If its cast, we will need to change the opening again to let her fly.

Sorry, but very new to this beekeeping lark.

if I collect a swarm that I have been called too, that has just landed in someone's garden, then the opening is just left open, never have I had a swarm leave, however if collecting a swarm that has been somewhere longer than 2 days, then the excluder is used for 48hrs

do you have drawn out comb in the poly, or fresh foundation?

if it's a prime, you should have eggs within 2 days, or as soon as comb is drawn, a cast swarm can take upto 2-3 weeks before eggs are seen

 

[allotment-bee]

We have put in new foundation,no spare drawn out spare atm.

Thanks for all advice people.

 

[pargyle]

We have put in new foundation,no spare drawn out spare atm.

Thanks for all advice people.

Within no time at all they will have drawn some out but I reckon it's best to leave them be (except for adding to the feeder) for a week - by that time you will/should have larvae if there's a laying queen. I actually find it quite difficult to see eggs (my eyesight is not great and varifocal glasses don't help focusing on very small objects) so I tend to look more for larvae than eggs in this type of situation.

Don't panic if you don't see eggs/larvae .. leave them another week and look again.

 

[dexter's shed]

I'll add, a swarm with a virgin queen that came from one of my hives into next door's garden and were then housed in a poly nuc 2 weeks ago, on inspection today we have eggs

 

[REDWOOD]

Sorry to be an extremist but I feed straight away this in itself will keep the swarm there and no need for an excluder, If the bees have got disease they an't going to get rid of it by consuming their own honey, better to give them a bit of thymol/syrup feed and sublimation of oxalic acid.

The size of the swarm is no indication if it has a virgin or mated queen, If a double brood colony threw a cast swarm it could quit easily be a size of a rugby ball and vise versa, a prime from a nuc could be the size of a fist.

If you are the curious sort and want a peak do it after 4:00 when no mating flights occur