Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: DeederMc on June 05, 2007, 07:55:10 PM

Title: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: DeederMc on June 05, 2007, 07:55:10 PM
I rescued a small swarm that was about to be sprayed out of existence (thank you to my friend who called me in spite of being told not to bother by the manager). I managed to get the queen and about 3/4 of the bees, but there's not a lot of them. In total the swarm is about the size of a baseball.

I don't have a hive right now - my last one fell prey to wax moths who utterly destroyed everything. Here's my question - is this swarm too small to survive, or is it worth it to run out and invest in another setup? If not, should I let them go or...? Right now I'm caring for them in a screened box in my workroom.

Thanks!

Deeder
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Moonshae on June 05, 2007, 08:09:17 PM
May take a while to get going, but why not give it a shot? If there's a local beekeeper's association you could possibly buy a frame or two of brood to give them a jumpstart.
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Understudy on June 05, 2007, 08:28:08 PM
Call a local dealer or beekeeper club and get a nuc. Buy it with brood, honey, and pollen frames with no bees. That should help.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: mick on June 06, 2007, 05:16:07 AM
Id reckon if its got a queen, its a good chance.

My swarm was the size of 4 beer cans and it did well befoe I too suffered the wax moth fate.
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: DeederMc on June 07, 2007, 12:37:18 AM
They are now in a hive and we're going to make a go of it! Thanks everyone for your guidance!
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Fannbee on June 07, 2007, 07:58:26 AM
Size of 4 cans of beer...hmmm.   What size are ya'll beer cans in Australia? I have heard they are quit larger than ours.
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Mici on June 07, 2007, 08:38:03 AM
mick, is this how you measure things?
boy did i catch a big one yesterday, i'm tellin' you, that catfish was the size or 10 beer cans

-how's your cat doing?
-great, she's grown for at least 1/2of a beer can in less than a week


-school
-and kids, remember australia is only 10.000 beer cans smaller than Europe!



if they're any larger, they're probably a pint or 5dCl.
in europe we have it only in two dimensions; 0.33dCl or 0.5dCl
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: nepenthes on June 07, 2007, 11:01:49 AM
whats your dCl unit you are using?
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Mici on June 07, 2007, 11:04:48 AM
it's actually Litres-L
dC-deci-ten
kind of like centimeter-centi-hundred

and now that i'm reading my previous post, i can see i made a big mistake
it's either 0,33l and 0,5l
or 3.3dCl and 5dCl

a pint is roughly 5dCl-0.5l so...i hiope you get the picture
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: nepenthes on June 07, 2007, 11:19:02 AM
Oh, so your just using metric! lol I wasn't to sure if you were talking gibberish to make mick feel better, or what!
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Michael Bush on June 08, 2007, 08:22:50 PM
>What size are ya'll beer cans in Australia?

The Fosters I've seen looked like the old oil cans.  Like about a quart.
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Understudy on June 09, 2007, 12:29:49 AM
Quote from: Michael Bush on June 08, 2007, 08:22:50 PM
>What size are ya'll beer cans in Australia?

The Fosters I've seen looked like the old oil cans.  Like about a quart.

Fosters is the beer aussies send to the US because they don't like us and don't like the beer. My Aussie friends are amazed that anyone would drink Fosters.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Michael Bush on June 09, 2007, 12:18:21 PM
I'm amazed anyone would drink anything as nasty as beer...
Title: Re: Advice on a Teeny, Tiny Swarm
Post by: Kirk-o on June 09, 2007, 05:55:25 PM
Oh yeah some of us are ole nasty beer drinkers I drink 5 beers a year
kirko