INTRODUCTION TO BEEKEEPING

Session 7 - SwarmingSat 5th/Sun 6th April 2013

Introductions

Bob Needs 26 years experience Bee migration Queen rearing Morphometry B.I.B.B.A. member

Reasons for swarming

Natural means of colony reproduction

Colony too crowded

Unbalanced colony Queen getting old Absconding

Preparation for Swarming A week before actual event Eggs in Queen cells Queen cells sealed Old Queen ready to fly off Prime Swarm

Prime Swarm & Casts Prime Swarm – half the workers Casts – Virgin Queen plus

progressively less workers Viability of Casts ? Viability of parent colony ?

0

10000

20000

30000

40000

50000

60000

Full Colony

Swarmed colony

Colony swarms

Main nectar flow

Foragers lost from parent colony

Impact of swarming

Swarm Prevention Regular Inspections -

weekly Young Queens < 2 years

old Room in brood space for

Queen to lay Room in super space for

nectar to be stored Know what to do when

Queen cells are seen with eggs or larvae

Mark & clip Queen ensures any swarm returns to hive

Mark and clip your Queens

Effect on Swarm of Clipped Queen

Swarm is not lost Workers return to hive Queen may return to hive Beekeeper must still take action

Swarm Control The Artificial

Swarm Many methods Colony acts as if it

has swarmed

Use of the Nucleus

Swarm ControlBasic Principles – (1)

Colony made up of 3 parts: Queen Brood Flying bees

Swarm ControlBasic Principles – (2)

Swarm control involves separating one of the three parts from the other two:

Queen from Brood and Flying Bees

Brood from Queen and Flying Bees

Flying Bees from Queen and Brood

Artificial Swarm MethodArtificial Swarm Method

Original StandOriginal Stand

B

Super

A

Find Queen on a frameCheck for and destroy all Queen CellsMove frame with Queen on to BOX BFill BOX B with drawn and foundation frames

Q

New box B

Examine all framesRemove all sealed Q CellsLeave 2 open Q Cells containing a grub

Stage 1 – Day 1

Flying Bees

Artificial Swarm MethodArtificial Swarm Method

Original StandOriginal Stand

B

Super

A

Move BOX A to other side of BOX B

Q

New box B

Q Cells now sealed

Stage 2 – Day 7

Examine all framesRemove all Q Cells

0 0

Feeder

Artificial Swarm MethodArtificial Swarm Method

Original StandOriginal Stand

B

Super

A Q

Stage 3 – Day 14

Feeder

Flying Bees from both Boxes A & BStrengthen foraging force

Virgin Q flies out to mate

First VQ to emerge attempts to kills other VQs

Do not open BOX AFor 3 weeks

After a further week check for Q Cells

Swarm collection locations

Rest nearby Trees, hedges, posts etc.

Scout bees look for home Collective agreement Fly off Popular sites

Chimneys Roof spaces Compost buckets etc.

Swarm Collection Obtain appropriate insurance Obtain permission from the

landowner Ensure the public are kept away

from the swarm Retrieve the queen and the rest

will follow Move the bees into a box Invert the box near the swarm Wait for all the bees to join the

queen Take away and re-hive the swarm

Hiving a swarm In front of hive Directly into a box Check for diseases Feed after 2 days

Difficult locations