Hi all. I keep reading about how the most important thing is swarm control etc etc. I have one hive that is finally flourishing. It happens to be a langstroth variant and I have a flow super ready for next year prior to the swarming season in the northern hemisphere. I have another empty hive which is not of the langstroth type. My conundrum is this - my hive is bound to swarm at some point…and I would like to capture the swarm and transfer it to the other hive, which does not accommodate langstroth size frames. Now I do not want to expand my apiary in the way that I see most people seem to want to do; I want to keep my hives to a maximum of two. I don’t have contacts with whom to engage in some kind of trade and I don’t have access to abundant resources such as frames with brood in various stages etc Can I leave them be as they are? Do I need to buy a langstroth hive so that I can maintain similar types between the two…and lose the other hive (called a revercivel in Portugal, which I bough prior to discovering flow hives) I would appreciate some advice. How do bees survive naturally because it seems to me that this forum focuses on an environment where these creatures can’t cope without man management. Sorry, perhaps I am going off on a tangent but its a question that I am sure many people may have in mind. Honey production is not my main aim here; I just want to do a bit for the flora and for the bees, and if honey comes then that is a bonus.
For ease of use I would just get another Lang and use it for splits. If you want to stay at one hive then at the end of the season kill the weakest queen and recombine the hives before winter.
Cheers
Rob
It does make you wonder why we go to such lengths when those bees don’t even follow directions like other livestock we keep 
The management is all about controlling disease outbreaks, and avoiding becoming a swarm factory.
Hi John, I’m intrigued by your question “How do bees survive naturally”. In the wild, bees swarm, it’s how they reproduce. They keep on expanding, however mother nature has mechanisms in place to keep things in balance. Bears & Honey Badgers are two of the predators that come to mind.
Thanks Jeff. It was a rhetorical question, actually. I think I am just going to try to help keep them healthy and if they want to leave then so be it.
Hi John, if you are in a suburban area, it’s not ideal to have bees that are going to swarm for obvious reasons. One solution is to remove brood & feed it to chooks, or even eat it yourself, it’s healthy & tastes great.
Thanks Jeff, will do