Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Wes Sapp on April 21, 2008, 06:34:38 PM

Title: Help w/ queenless swarm
Post by: Wes Sapp on April 21, 2008, 06:34:38 PM
I caught one of my hives swarming today. They landed about 15 feet up in a pine tree, but I was able to take a extension ladder and lean it against the bucket of my tractor and get close to them. I raked what I could off the limb with my hand and then cut the rest of the limb off and droped it in the hive body. After I got back to the ground I noticed another cluster beginning to form on a bush. I took a 5 gallon bucket and cut the limb off into the bucket and dumped that into the hive body. After I had most of the bees in a hive body I noticed a ball of bees on the ground. I took a stick and moved them around and found the queen, she was dead. So I put her in the hive and will let them be until tonight then I'll move them back into my yard. What's the best thing to do now? Order a new queen or put a frame of eggs and larva in and let them make there own queen? If I put a frame of eggs in should it come from another hive or can I use one from the same hive that just swarmed?
Title: Re: Help w/ queenless swarm
Post by: Michael Bush on April 21, 2008, 09:24:42 PM
Take a frame of eggs from you best hive.  :)  Pick the genetics.

But don't assume that was the only queen.  Often a swarm has several.