My hives are about 6 weeks into development now. I started with nucs and things seem to be going as expected. When and if I find queen cells should I destroy them or let them be? Any information or added advice would be appreciated. I am still feeding sugar syrup and they are drawing out the comb. Population seems to be rising at a steady rate. thanks for the help!!
Destroy them and lose the hive. If they build them, they need them. They know the old queen is leaving, whether she flys or dies.
Your main swarm season should be over. Make sure they have plenty of room for expansion and you will be fine this year. Any cells you see should be supersedure cells and the bees know more about that than you do. If they think they need to raise a queen they are probally right. There are a lot of different ways to control swarming but not letting them get crowed has always worked the best for me.
SCDW43, I hope you guys don't mind me jumping in here but what do you do to give them more room? I have a hive that for the last three evenings the bees have been really bunching up on the front of the hive. I was wondering if they were just too warm or were getting ready to swarm.
Thanks
I see my bees gather on the front of the hive by the entrance but I believe they are fanning and keeping the hive cool. 93 seems to be a consistent temperature. I am glad i did this just to learn and realize they are a ac and heating company to.
One lesson I learned early. NEVER destroy queens cells until you check enough to know what is happening. In my first year of beekeeping, I found swarm cells and freaked and cut them out...only to find that the queen had already left with a swarm. I wont do that again. :-D
Bearding on the front of the hive in the summer is not necessarily a sign of overcrowding. When it's hot the will sit out on the porch and cool off.
Steve