Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: Ray Hall on April 12, 2007, 09:27:07 PM

Title: Hive swarmed does this mean a failing queen?
Post by: Ray Hall on April 12, 2007, 09:27:07 PM
My fisrt ever hive swarmed the other day. Sure was a lot of bee's My question is does tthis mean that I need to requeen my hive. I was told that a swarming hive means the queen that took the swarm is failing is this true?

Title: Re: Hive swarmed does this mean a failing queen?
Post by: buzzbee on April 12, 2007, 09:51:57 PM
Swarming is a natural reproduction of the bee colonies.Your hive may have become crowded with no where for the queen to lay,and if theres a flow and the colony is healthy they may have done what comes natural.
Did you catch the swarm?
Title: Re: Hive swarmed does this mean a failing queen?
Post by: tom on April 13, 2007, 03:13:19 AM
Hello

  Had my big hive to swarm last thursday and it was a nice one and then i went and destroyed all queen cells except one. And i hived two packages yesterday and put a spare queen in the colony and then they sent out another swarm and this one had the young virgin with them so i am going to release the spare queen and let her take over.

Tom :)
Title: Re: Hive swarmed does this mean a failing queen?
Post by: Ray Hall on April 13, 2007, 01:19:43 PM
I did catch the swarm and hived it. I also installed 3 packages that same day. I had someone tell me that the queen that went with the swarm is the orginal queen and she is failing. Is this true.
Title: Re: Hive swarmed does this mean a failing queen?
Post by: Michael Bush on April 13, 2007, 10:26:41 PM
Successful hives swarm.  Failing hives supersede the queen.  They don't swarm.