Help w/ queenless swarm

Started by Wes Sapp, April 21, 2008, 06:34:38 PM

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Wes Sapp

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?
Wes Sapp

Michael Bush

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.
My website:  bushfarms.com/bees.htm en espanol: bushfarms.com/es_bees.htm  auf deutsche: bushfarms.com/de_bees.htm  em portugues:  bushfarms.com/pt_bees.htm
My book:  ThePracticalBeekeeper.com
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"Everything works if you let it."--James "Big Boy" Medlin