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: 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: 15993

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: 15993

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.

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 13 5:49 pm Post subject:

Update.
All the splits & the swarm I have at home are now queenright & laying.
Had to super the mother hive & the largest split as they have already filled the brood box with brood & honey.
The split in the 5 frame nuc was filled out so that is now in a national brood box with empty frames.
The swarm in the top bar hive have built eight combs, three of which have brood, the rest nectar & honey.
Little bit of cross combing which I have hopefully rectified.
I've spread the straightest combs & put empty bars between to encourage more straight comb building.
Figure with this heat wave there's little chance of chilled brood.

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Thu Jul 18, 13 5:55 pm Post subject:

Lorrainelovesplants wrote:

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.

How did it go?

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 13 5:26 am Post subject:

Well, hive 1 in the orchard that overwintered poorly and i dont rate the queen are ticking over but still on 2 and a half frames.
hive 2, my black bees - having made a quen cell last week, this has now disappeared (?) and they are working like mad. The super I had on last week is full and Ive given them a 2nd one, lots of capped brood but I cant see any young uncapped. Will be going in again this morning to look.
Hive 3 at St Kew, have been back on Monday - cant see a queen, no brood at all, loads of honey, very little pollen, but they are calm as you like, so Im thinking there must be a queen she just hasnt started laying.
Thinking - take a frame of uncapped (possibly from hive 2) and move to St kew?

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 13 10:02 am Post subject:

So, have been and done the bees (before it gets too hot).
Hive 1 in the orchard are exactly the same.
Hive 2 (black bees) are superceding definately - 3 queen cups in the centre of frames and one capped (but open, if you know what I mean) at the bottom. Now, Ive never seen the queen in this hive, so i dont know if she's gone or what...
So now I have to put a bait hive nearby to possibly attract a possible swarm.
Hive 3 at St kew - lots of brood and capped brood, and very quiet - yippee. And just put on 2nd super - 1st one nearly full and capped.

Tavascarow

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

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 13 12:52 pm Post subject:
Excellent. It does look like this is a bee year. When we have an extended dry spell I'm always a little concerned, Perfect weather for the bees to fly but if the ground is to dry plants will stop producing nectar. My fields are still full of white clover blooms but I haven't seen much activity on them. The bramble on the other hand is busy with bees. (deeper roots)

Lorrainelovesplants

Joined: 13 Oct 2006
Posts: 6521
Location: Dordogne

Posted: Fri Jul 19, 13 1:00 pm Post subject:
The field opposite our gate was alive with clover a week ago, the smell was incredible. Its starting to burn off now and everything looks crispy. have noticed that not much pollen is coming in on the bees , but we are to get thunderstorm on Sunday so perhaps some rain?

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