Week 4Queens, Hive Splitting and Swarms

Dara K. Dimitrovdkd4@waikato.ac.nz

Swarms

Can be an easy way to increase the number of hives you have

It is the natural way that bees replicate themselves

It usually occurs in early spring to mid summer

Happens in large active healthily hives (so if the hive is weak – it won’t swarm)

If you live in the city – swarming of your bees is a public nuisance

Types of Swarms

Primary Swarms 1st Swarm of the season

Contains a Queen and can have up to 25,000 bees

Sometimes this maybe the only swarm from a hive

Sometimes maybe the original queen (she ceases laying eggs, so abdomen reduces and allows her to fly)

Types of Swarms

Secondary Swarms (sometimes called after-swarms) Happen after the primary swarms (maybe only be a couple a

weeks after the primary one sometimes)

Usually a virgin queen

Types of Swarms

Absconding Swarms The whole hive leaves the box

They are starving

There is disease present

Insects are attacking the hive (hive month or ants)

This is rare – but it does happen

More common – the hive will die out before vacating the hive

Catching the Swarm

You need to consider 3 main points How long the bees have been sitting there

Where exactly the swarm is located

The size of the swarm

Catching the Swarm

If the bees have not settled properly They will not go into your box easily

They will probably move on very quickly

If the bees have been there a couple of days They will move on very quickly to their new home

The Scout bees will have located a new hive spot

Even if you manage to catch them – they may leave

Location of the Swarm If the bees settle in a very high tree or some other

difficult spot – it will be very difficult to catch them Your success rate is very low

Accessibility – can you reach them Do you need a ladder?

How high????

If the bees are in someone’s house wall, roof, inside part of a building structure (which requires removal of the part of the structure ----------CALL PEST CONTROL!

You must consider the safety aspect – and use caution when grabbing the swarm

Size of the Swarm

If it is a primary swarm – You may need a full size box

10 frames

If it is a secondary swarm Use a nuc box

5 frames

Catching the Swarm

1. Suit up

2. Make sure you have all your wood ware ready

- put a couple of drawn frames in the hive box

- the bees have gorged on honey – so they don’t need any honey frames

- Swarms are often used to repair damaged frames and draw foundation

Catching the Swarm

The bees will be clustering around the queen

Shake the bees into a bucket

If possible – put the hive box underneath the swarm

Try disturb the bees as little as possible

You might have to shake the bees off several times before they will stay in the box

You can tell that you have caught the queen because the worker bees will ‘fan’

Fanning Worker Bees

Catching the Swarm

Leave the lid off the swarm for the first 15-20 mins

Then when the bees start fanning and the majority of the bees are in the hive box

Put the lid on BUT leave a gap for the bees to enter and exit from

The bees will use the regular entrance as well as the gap on the top

Leave the box on location until evening so that you catch the entire hive before removing it

Emergency

You can put them into a cardboard box – use one that closes

You can use a bucket with a lid – slip the bucket under the swarm and put the lid on the bucket (snip the branch)

Try to not to disturb the cluster – just quietly place the box/bucket under the swarm – and shut it quickly

You won’t get all the bees – but most of them & the queen

Final thoughts on Swarms

You can use Bait hives to catch swarms when you are not around – (nuc box with some drawn frames)

If the swarm is a secondary – you are better off jamming it on top of a weaker hive Greater number of bees === stronger hive, better cluster

Disease can be transferred with Swarms If it is not your own hive swarm ----Play it safe and leave the

swarms separate from your own hives

Keep an eye on the brood for signs of disease

Splitting Hives

If you want to increase the number of producing hives for either the current year or the following year

It discourages swarming

You can generate an income from the sale of nucs

Hive Splits and Time of the Year

If you get the timing wrong – it will be a waste of time, money and bees

Generally mid spring (when numbers in the hives begin to increase) and before the honey flow peaks

There has to be adequate food in both splits for the both hives to thrive (so you may have to feed them too)

The general rule – the earlier and the stronger each split is – the more successful you will be

How to Split them

Split a double brood hive in half Leave the queen in one box

Put a queen cell/mated queen in the other box

Make sure there is brood in both hives

Select brood and feed from a hive – and make up nucs Minimum number of frames is 3 for a nuc

REMEMBER clustering and temperatures so 5 frames is best

You need a queen cell/mated queen for the nuc

Splitting side by side

Side by Side Hive Splits

Double Brood Boxes

Put 2 hive floors together – in front of the old hive

Put one box on each of the hive floors

Check to see which box has the queen

Re-queen the other box – mated queen/queen cell

Walk Away Splits

Split the hive in half (brood frames and honey)

Leave them alone

The Queen-less hive will raise a queen (16 days to hatching – another week for her to mate)

Compare this to a mated queen – about 5 days to get out of the cage – another 5 days to get laying well

Ripe queen cell – is about 11 days from hatching to mating and laying

Hive Splitting

If you do it in the spring – 21 days for the hive to get going if you leave it queenless

If you use a mature queen cell – 11 days for the hive to get going

If you use a mated queen – it will take about 10 days (maximum) to get going

Queens

Mature queen cells – ready to hatch in a couple of days usually

Queens

Buy Mated queens – come in a cage, with other bees - They have a sugar ‘end’ – you MUST remove the plastic cap so that the bees can eat through the sugar end to release the queen -- takes about 4-5 days

Unmated Queen emerging

Queen in cage with other bees

Questions????