Hi everyone Im off work due to knee operation and gave the lawn a mow, looked up in a tree and my little beauties have swarmed. I have only had the hive 8 months or so they just expanded so quickly.
I have opened it up and there seems to be queen cells. Would I be right in saying the old queen has left and they are making a new one? So I should keep an eye on it and look for the new queen?
In regards for the swarm I don’t have another box as yet so should I leave them or call someone to grab them?
If it is your hive that swarmed then assume the queen has gone with the swarm and you have lost an asset, that being the queen and the bees that swarmed.
None of the queen cells in your pics are in use, Bees like to construct a ‘play queen cell’ which might not even be used if the colony becomes queen-less. I used to knock down the ‘play cells’ but found in a day or two the bees will have made another.
But in your case the bees will select an egg, or more, to become a new queen so there is nothing for you to do for about 4 weeks till the new queen has emerged, mated and is laying new brood. That will also set the hive backwards with a reduction of adult bees.
I would certainly contact anyone that would take the swarm, That swarm will set up somewhere nearby so they will compete with your bees for pollen and nectar.
Learn about doing good hive management and how to do a preemptive split of your hive so that you will increase your hive number or have a very easily saleable item on Gumtree.
Cheers
I was unfortunately about a month off, I’m building a new shed and was going to get another hive to split it but they were just too quick for me. I guess I will leave it a few weeks and then inspect and hope a new queen will emerge.
I have called a local bee catcher and he will take them for me. I should have been more prepared for this I just didn’t expect it to happen inside a year of a new hive.
Thank you very much for your help Peter.
Welcome to the life of being a bee keeper more often than not has us playing catch up rather than being in control. I spent 4 days down in your area last week, a common factor was bee keepers thought there was a nectar flow on prior to the recent rain because there was flowers in the bush. The flowers were dry.
This past few weeks with good rain, pollen, some nectar coming on, warm weather, hey, the bees are thinking it is Spring time so swarming is happening in a big way.
Also keep an eye for an infestation of SHB, especially where a hive has been weakened by swarming. Damp, hot and humid conditions is SHB heaven.
Cheers
Hi Peter,
First time posting on here. I’m on the Gold Coast and lost my hive to a swarm this morning. They were quick saw them in my neighbors yard and within about 30 mins they had gone. I did an inspection only 17 days ago and could only see one Queen cup so wasn’t to worried. Should I open the hive up this afternoon to have a look or leave it 7-10 days to see any larvae. With SHB should I leave the super on. It’s a massive learning curve for me. Any help would be greatly appreciated.
Geez, I just got back from 4 days helping beginner bee keepers from Carrara down to the Tweed, Looks like another trip very soon. It is hard to make a call on leaving or removing the super with out knowing or better still seeing the hive and having a look at the colony. But my leaning would be to leave it on, and leave the hive alone for several days as they will be confused, stressed and probably would not enjoy your company.
No need to look for larvae in the brood cluster, it is there if it is a normal swarm, and your not the first on the Gold Coast to have had swarming of a hive. I think in the four days down there last week most of the hives had swarmed or well on the way. The other common issue there is that the bush is giving up heals of pollen but there is very little nectar in the flowers, but with the recent rain I expect there will be nectar coming on now.
Re queen cups – most healthy colonies will have at least one ‘play queen cell’ and I leave them because if you knock it down the bees will make another within 48 hours. If the colony need to make a new queen they more often will make a new one and ignore the play cell.
Re swarming, it usually happens in early to mid Spring but this season has really gone weird with the drought, a lack of nectar so the bees are reacting to a February Spring climate and conditions.
Just looked at my commitments and thinking I could do a visit to you and a few others down there soon but would like to know about the hive so I’ll PM you with my phone number and email. I don’t want to get there and find I needed some gear I left at home, and can not do something that I wished I had the gear to do.
Look for a PM…
Cheers
