would a hived swarm make swarm preparations in the same season?

[meidel]

I didn't see them but a fellow beek told me that the bees in my hive were making roaring noises and flying about as though in preparation of swarming!

This hive is one which I put the prime swarm in on 1st May - they'd swarmed on 30th April and I put them into a 14x12 brood box. The queen laid almost straightaway as there was some already drawn frames. They built up veyr quickly as when I inspected two weeks ago, I could donate a frame of brood to a fellow beek and last Thurs I put on a super for them.

During the last 2 inspecitons there were no queen cells, just 5 to 6 frames of brood 4 of stores and one half drawn out.

So my question is would they be thinking of swarming again?

 

[MartinL]

Two Weeks is more than enough for em!!
Don't see why not!

 

[meidel]

So ur saying I should be doing an AS?

 

[Tom Bick]

Its possible they will swarm again but not without giving you due notice as in charged QC’s.

Bees don’t fly around in preparation to swarming.

Although not always the case but swarms do have a habit of swarming.

If you have no evidence of charged QC’s then you don’t need to AS them.

 

[meidel]

I think I'd better inspect them tomorrow rather than Thurs and see what cells there are. I felt rather daunted at the thought of having to do AS or demaree again as last time I did the demaree or pagden or whatever it's called with snelgrove, the bottom box which had the queen swarmed.

 

[chrischris]

Hi picked up a swarm on 1st may last year and thought I would be ok as regards swarming, however they swarmed in the july, when I checked the hive after the swarm there was one well hidden sealed Q cell that I had missed and they were only on 6 frames. So no certainty that a swarm will not swarm again.

 

[SteveJ]

My Mentor told me that they only swarm once a year. Proved him wrong four times in my first year. Never trust anything your father tells you.

 

[meidel]

My Mentor told me that they only swarm once a year. Proved him wrong four times in my first year. Never trust anything your father tells you.

So what did you do the following year in terms of swarm prevention?

 

[Finman]

I didn't see them but a fellow beek told me that the bees in my hive were making roaring noises and flying about as though in preparation of swarming!

This hive is one which I put the prime swarm in on 1st May - they'd swarmed on 30th April and I put them into a 14x12 brood box. The queen laid almost straightaway as there was some already drawn frames. They built up veyr quickly as when I inspected two weeks ago, I could donate a frame of brood to a fellow beek and last Thurs I put on a super for them.

During the last 2 inspecitons there were no queen cells, just 5 to 6 frames of brood 4 of stores and one half drawn out.

So my question is would they be thinking of swarming again?

No they will not, but they will, if the hive is full of honey and no room to lay.

After swarming bees often supercede the old queen, if it is 3 or 4 years old.

Your friend has seen cleansing flight after bad weathers.

Roaring? - sound of drones...about 14-15 a'lock

5-6 frames of brood and you donate a brood frame. Not wise at all.
it is 20 percent out of your brood. One box hive is small. That hive is very far from getting yield this summer.
-


.

 

[Finman]

My Mentor told me that they only swarm once a year. Proved him wrong four times in my first year. Never trust anything your father tells you.

Reason was not in bees. And first year beekeeper deliver his advices...

 

[meidel]

5-6 frames of brood and you donate a brood frame. Not wise at all.
it is 20 percent out of your brood. One box hive is small. That hive is very far from getting yield this summer.
-


.

i know, exactly what my mentor said too :: - but not really looking for getting yield, we're all new beeks at the apiary and done more in the spirit of getting each other through

 

[rockdoc]

Well done Finman on your comment about 'roaring'. I had a young beek down the road from me come up at 14.00 to tell me his bees were making a great deal of noise and lots of flying about. I will pass on you wise words to him.

 

[susbees]

Its possible they will swarm again but not without giving you due notice as in charged QC’s.

Um, no.

Hived prime here, sealed brood, gone. Had QE under for several days. No sign of any cups even...and still space for stores and to lay.

 

[meidel]

Um, no.

Hived prime here, sealed brood, gone. Had QE under for several days. No sign of any cups even...and still space for stores and to lay.

Do you mean that you've had the experience of your hived prime swarm absconding leaving behind sealed brood despite the presence of QE and plenty of space in the brood chamber?

Apart from the obvious - swarmy bees - why would they do such a thing??

 

[drstitson]

sealed brood - sound slike susbeess had QE under for a few days and then they absconded after it had been removed.

 

[Finman]

.
Bees natural habit is not swarm twice a year.
But if a beekeeper make mistakes in his beekeeping, the hive swarms.

Once I had a carniolan swarm. It was 4 kg big. I gove to 3 boxes to inhabit and I brought it to rape & raspberry pastures.

When I went to look hive 2 weeks later, the hive had 3 boxes capped honey, eggs in queen cell cups and swarm was gone.


Sometimes here raspberry gives a huge amount of nectar. A Finnish record is 15 kg in one day to the balance hive.

This amount of nectar fills all places and then the colony may get a sudden feeling to swarm. Only eggs in the queen cell cups will prove what happened.

.

 

[Finman]

i know, exactly what my mentor said too :: - but not really looking for getting yield, we're all new beeks at the apiary and done more in the spirit of getting each other through

Then it is the same what you do with your bees.

But with those ideas you have difficulties to get the hive in wintering condition.

Not yield
Spirit ... Vodga?

I think that aquarium is better for you.

.

 

[Tom Bick]

Um, no.

Hived prime here, sealed brood, gone. Had QE under for several days. No sign of any cups even...and still space for stores and to lay.

Ok but a very different subject than the one in this thread.

 

[meidel]

Then it is the same what you do with your bees.

But with those ideas you have difficulties to get the hive in wintering condition.

Not yield
Spirit ... Vodga?

I think that aquarium is better for you.

.

by yield - i mean honey

spirit - i prefer a scotch usually

aquarium is most definitely not for me

many of us believe these bees are going to take over the world - tough as old boots, from the same stock whose virgin queen went out to mate and returned, successfully laying when everyone pooh poohed the weather conditions as not suitable for mating flights, filling 14x12 brood chambers at a rate of practically 2 frames in a week and now I am having to consider swarm prevention measures, again??

anyway, will inspect this afternoon and report back.

what do i know right? i'm only a newbie

 

[zippy573]

the theory that swarmed hives do not swarm in the same season has been around for years and i have only ever known of one that has swarmed and then gone on to swarm again in the same year. I guess with earlier swarms than 30 years ago its now more likely. I would say it depends on how you manage your bees, if time is at a premium and you can aford to miss the odd swarm i would assume that they wont swarm twice in a year and save yourself some time - but thats just me.