I'm not sure on what is going on in my bee yard. I'm hoping someone here might have an idea, or have some suggestions because I'm kind of boggled.
About a month ago the weather was nice so I made a couple splits (I had 4 hives - started last year with two) so with the splits I made 4 more hives. Then the weather got cold and warm, windy and snow - typical NY weather. Two weeks ago these 4 over wintered hives exploded! Swarm after swarm after swarm.....Not just small swarms - big ones! I didn't think there could be so many bees in these boxes!!! All two high 8 frame deeps.
I was using the beevac on one swarm the other day and then another hive swarmed and then another minutes after that one swarmed. The last two of the three (for that day) I got half of it in a box and then the last one that swarmed went right to the box with the others......I put them on a skid with one of the splits I made earlier (month ago)and the next morning I went out and all the swarmed bees were marching over to the other split box and stayed......On another day I heard a swarm and went down to see and (I have no idea where these came from, not mine) but It was a large swarm came into one of my hives all marched in and stayed the night. The next day they swarmed out and I caught them in a near by tree! This "same" thing happened yesterday - a large swarm came in from somewhere (not mine) and combined with another box I have a swarm in that I caught from my yard...there's got to be a zillion bees in this box - I haven't looked yet, I thought they would have moved out today, like the other one did, but they didn't....yet! I noticed with these two unknown swarms the first (unknown) swarm started building comb (on foundationless frames) in the back N.W. corner of the box. I looked last night at the second unknown swarm "combo" with my swarm I caught from my yard are all in the back N.W. corner as well (I looked with my thermal camera). Not sure why they would start back there, or if it means anything - just an observation.
This early afternoon I had one swarm (small) and the one hive beside it swarmed minutes after and they combined together in a thorn tree. Medium size swarm after they were done. I didn't get that swarm - Thorns are two inches long on that tree, and I'm all swarmed out! Friday I went through the boxes and there was two capped queen cells in each of the 4 hives.
Anyone have any thoughts or comments.... suggestions?
Minus my packages I bought, I'm now up to15 hives...... and 3 swarms (that I know of) got away.
Go. Go. Go! I've only had one swarm that I'm aware of but it came after I split my hives as well and it was rainy and cold for three weeks before.
That's the wildest swarm story I've ever heard! Especially bees going into and out of boxes, and joining a colony already in a box. Natural combines?
Could some of these swarms had multple queens(virgin)? I had a swarm that must have been the size of a basketball. When I was trying to get it in the box, I found a virgin queen. After getting it in two 10 frame mediums, they stayed the night. Then they swarmed out of that box the next day. Not quite as big. They are now in another two 10 frame setup. They have been there for the last couple of days. Hopefully they have called it home now. I think the original swarm was a combination of a couple of swarms with some virgin queens.
Sometimes a swarm will leave, hang on a tree, then return to the box. I started putting a drawn frame in the swarm box and a queen excluder on the bottom of the bottom super. After about 36 hours I remove the excluder so she can go on a mating flight. I also start feeding them immediately.
Sounds like you are doing something right. Weak colonies do not usually swarm. Sounds like a lot of good strong hives and they may be doing what I call super swarming, same hive swarming over and over until there is nothing left.
Listen to your hives. See if you can hear queen piping. Try to count the number of different sounds they make. Count them then multiply times by 3. That is probably the number of queen you have queens you have being kept in their cells by the bees so that they can super swarm.
Go into the piping hives and reduce them down to a single queen. Caution, have a lot of queen cages available before you start. I heard 3 different pipes so I had 4 queen cages ready when I did it. I caught 11 queens and missed one that ended up killing the marked queen that I left for the observation hive.
When this happened to me, the hive had already swarmed 3 times. I kept scrambling to find more and more queen cages so have them ready up front.
Jim
Thanks guys! Yeah, I didn't see where the two swarms came from that went into my hives - but maybe that is what happened, they left and came back...
Jim - I'll have to listen tomorrow on the queen piping - I've never heard of such a thing. I will defiantly keep that in mind for next year. I'm hoping they are done for this year. It was quiet today - first day in two weeks without a swarm or two. There's still bees in these hive - I'll peak in tomorrow to see what they're up to. I hope they recover from all the swarming.
So the queen will only pipe when she is held in the cell? Why that's fascinating! What do you do with the queens in the queen cages?
Thanks!
Linda,
"What do you do with the queens in the queen cages? "
I gave a bit of a talk on just this subject last night at the bee meeting.
First thing if you do not already have splits made up and ready, pull a few frames of brood and bees and make a queen less nuc. After an hour or 2 you can put the caged queens in there for them to feed them. Cages should have the wood corks on to prevent escape. When you put the first one one on, see how they react. If there are sticking their tongues out to feed the queen, they are queen less and are ready. If they bite at the screen and are hard to move you may have a queen in the nuc or they need more time.
This will give you time to make up queen less nucs.
You can sell them as virgin queens. $10-15 each.
Give them to your beek friends.
If they die, put them in a jar of alcohol. Dip a Q-tip one end in the alcohol and the other end in lemon grass oil. Wipe one end and then the other around the entrance of your swarm traps and put the Q-tip in a sealed baggie in the bottom of the trap. Very effective at attracting swarms.
Jim
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 24, 2016, 12:36:15 PM
Wipe one end and then the other around the entrance of your swarm traps and put the Q-tip in a sealed baggie in the bottom of the trap. Very effective at attracting swarms.
Jim
Why put it inside a sealed baggie?
Quote from: Caribou on May 26, 2016, 12:34:12 AM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 24, 2016, 12:36:15 PM
Wipe one end and then the other around the entrance of your swarm traps and put the Q-tip in a sealed baggie in the bottom of the trap. Very effective at attracting swarms.
Jim
Why put it inside a sealed baggie?
I imagine it's so the moisture doesn't evaporate out of the Q tip too soon. Keeping it in a baggie will allow the smell to exit slowly without the Q tip losing its (it's?) effectiveness too quickly?
Quote from: PhilK on May 26, 2016, 01:24:05 AM
Quote from: Caribou on May 26, 2016, 12:34:12 AM
Quote from: sawdstmakr on May 24, 2016, 12:36:15 PM
Wipe one end and then the other around the entrance of your swarm traps and put the Q-tip in a sealed baggie in the bottom of the trap. Very effective at attracting swarms.
Jim
Why put it inside a sealed baggie?
I imagine it's so the moisture doesn't evaporate out of the Q tip too soon. Keeping it in a baggie will allow the smell to exit slowly without the Q tip losing its (it's?) effectiveness to quickly?
That is correct and it also reduces the strength of to LGO in the hive. If it is too strong, it will cause the bees to leave before they get established.
Jim