I started with a new hive and they were in a nine deep box and then I added another deep brood box and the weather was bad and I didn’t do another inspection for 4 weeks. But didn’t think they would fill this one up so quick,when I went in there today they had both boxes packed full and we’re starting to make swarm cells. We put on the flow honey super. Will this be enough to stop from swarming or will I need to take out a couple frames to make more room. And if so should it be one full of brood or a honey frame
Hi Anna,
Were any of those queen cells capped? and where were they located on the frames? They could be just play cups, if they are open, take a good look inside to see if there is eggs, larva and/or a milky substance. You need to ascertain what is going on before removing frames and brood (artficial swarm)
They were on the frames but I didn’t look in them I just destroyed them. They were also not capped either. There were about five or six only on the top brood box. I want to go back in a couple days to make sure there isn’t more
Before you go back in, I would suggest that you read this great article on up to date thinking about how to manage queen cells:
http://www.wbka.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/There-Are-Queen-Cells-In-My-Hive-WBKA-WAG.pdf
Just destroying them will not remove the swarm urge.
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I would invest in a Nuc box and when they make more swarm cells and they will move them into the Nuc. I personally don’t destroy any queen cells. I’ll split if I find any (none have had larvae in them so far that survived)
Thank you for all the good information. This page is really a life saver. Especially for a newbie like me. I’ll be checking again in a few days and I’ll inspect the cells further if I see more and buy a mic box for just in case.
I’ll be saving this link for a look back if I need it again. Very good read!
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