Two swarms from one hive on the same day.

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Two swarms from one hive on the same day.
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Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Jun 24, 13 3:36 pm Post subject: Two swarms from one hive on the same day.
We bought a national hive full of bees two weeks ago & immediately split it into three. Today one of the splits swarmed both prime & cast at the same time. The cold windy weather the last few days must have delayed them. Now in the skep & a cardboard box for hiving tonight. One in a top bar & the other in a friends WBC. Think there could be a few late swarms around this year. Photos to follow.

Midland Spinner

Joined: 13 Jan 2009
Posts: 2931
Location: Under a green roof

Posted: Mon Jun 24, 13 3:55 pm Post subject:
I saw a swarm in the garden earlier, as I was carrying a full super down for extracting. By the time I'd got it indoors & gone back out, they'd gone.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16006

Posted: Mon Jun 24, 13 5:26 pm Post subject:
Someone once told me that when the weather is bad the bees don't have much to do and so plot swarms. Not true, but amusing. Seems like yours have had far too much time on their hands.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Tue Jun 25, 13 7:11 am Post subject:
Had to do an artificial swarm on Sunday - brood and a half - split into 2. It seems this is the time to set a bait hive....

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Tue Jun 25, 13 3:41 pm Post subject:
Hived the one swarm into a HTBH last night & seem to have stuck. The other is still in the skep for hiving tonight.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Wed Jun 26, 13 5:10 pm Post subject:
My bait hive at St Kew is buzzing. My friend heard a terrific droning noise which he eventually realised was bees and ran round to his orchard to see the hive smothered with bees. they took about 20 mins to go in. He is delighted and said it was incredible to witness. Was thinking of going on Sunday to collect or do you think too soon?

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 13 12:17 pm Post subject:
I hive swarms as soon as possible, but that's usually because they are either in a skep or cardboard box. If St Kew is over three miles from you, & they are on frames I doubt it would make little difference when you hive them. One advantage of doing it early is you can reset the box sooner to catch another & it will still smell of swarming bees.

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 13 8:16 pm Post subject:
Its only a mile and a half away... I was thinking to wait a week just to make sure she has started to lay properly.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 13 8:33 pm Post subject:

Tavascarow wrote:

Hived the one swarm into a HTBH last night & seem to have stuck.
The other is still in the skep for hiving tonight.

Are the bees going in and out of that skep through a slit? I haven't quite finished one but I thought they were just an upturned container that I would prop up to allow all of them in and then move to the proper hive with the bottom covered over in some way.

sean
Downsizer Moderator

Joined: 28 Oct 2004
Posts: 42219
Location: North Devon

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 13 8:37 pm Post subject:
My guess is that it's a hole rather than a design feature.

Cathryn

Joined: 16 Jul 2005
Posts: 19856
Location: Ceredigion

Posted: Thu Jun 27, 13 8:38 pm Post subject:
Yeah, I suppose that could be it.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16006

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 13 8:15 am Post subject:
Skeps meant for use do have a slit in them as a design feature. Those just used for collecting or decoration don't, mainly because you don't really want bees to be able to get in and out. I would recommend re-hiving bees as soon as possible after catching the swarm unless you have a fully framed out bait hive, otherwise they will set up home and fill the gaps with wild comb.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Fri Jun 28, 13 11:00 am Post subject:

Cathryn wrote:

Tavascarow wrote:

Hived the one swarm into a HTBH last night & seem to have stuck.
The other is still in the skep for hiving tonight.

I made it deliberately with an entrance, & about twice as large as the skeps you buy, so if I had no hives spare I can leave them in there longer.

Mistress Rose

Joined: 21 Jul 2011
Posts: 16006

Posted: Sat Jun 29, 13 8:14 am Post subject:

I would suggest that you now leave them in there as they will have produced comb and brood. Some people do run skeps, and if yours is large, you can get a crop off. I did quite a lot of study on this for some work on 17th century beekeeping a few years ago, and there is also a way of getting a crop without killing the bees. If you make another small skep that will go on the top, and make a hole in the top of he current one big enough for a bee to go through, you can use the smaller skep as a 'super' as he bees prefer to put the honey up there.

Getting them out once they are established is quite a performance, especially if they have brood. It was traditionally done about midsummer, both to get a crop (I suspect oil seed rape as 'stone honey' is talked of and osr was grown then), and give them time to build up again for the winter as the brood would be left.

Tavascarow

Joined: 06 Aug 2006
Posts: 8407
Location: South Cornwall

Posted: Mon Jul 01, 13 9:52 am Post subject:

Mistress Rose wrote:

These are now in my friends WBC.
I'm tempted to try a colony in the skep.
Read A. Pettigrew's "The Handy Book of Bees" last year & love the Heather skep apiary videos from Germany.
If I get time this winter to make a couple more skeps might give it a go next year.
I'm more interested in getting a couple of colonies running in Warre hives, & I have another HTBH to populate as well, so not on the top of my priority list.

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