Swarm Season Has Begun - Be Aware - Act NOW

Colonies that came through winter in good strength often expand rapidly and are prone to swarming

Remember: Swarming is a natural reproductive process Swarming typically indicates a strong a strong colony Vigilance and proactive splitting can minimize the chances of swarming Swarming is difficult to prevent in every case Even experienced beekeepers have colonies that swarm

These comments are to promote awareness: See your mentor or other reliable sources

If you have overwintered colonies: Inspect your colonies NOW! — Particularly if you have not yet inspected

Situations you may discover: Your colony May have swarmed already Show signs of preparing to swarm Heavy nectar flow and back-filling of brood area, Honey Bound Colony

Colony may have already swarmed Signs a colony may have swarmed? Lots of capped brood, few to no uncapped larvae, no eggs Empty queen cells may not be evident (These are often broken down once virgin queens emerge) Population may seem normal Pre-swarm populations tend to be Very Large Half of “Very Large” is still a Lot of bees (Good news: Field bees keep working) What if a swarm has likely occurred? — Usually the colony will requeen itself It can take several days before new eggs are evident Virgin queens must build strength before living on mating flights Once back, her egg laying begins slowly Be patient If several days pass and no sign of new eggs - contact your mentor

Colony is preparing to swarm Rem: Q development stages and times: Egg (3 days & egg hatches) Larvae (5 days) - Capped on day 8 Capped Pupae (8 days) - Q emerges on day 16 Queen cells are present - it will be in one of two stages (Know difference between Q-cells and drone-cells) - (See mentor, or credible reference for photos) Q-cell is open, with royal jelly and larvae visible from bottom This cell is less than 8 days old - It is 9 to 12 days from hatching It may be possible to do a split The smaller the Q larvae the better Q-cell is capped This cell is somewhere between 1 and 8 days from hatching Swarms usually leave a couple of days before virgins emerge Splits at this late stage are iffy The tendency to swarm anyway is quite high Be sure you have equipment in which to put the split

Workers are back-filling the brood area - Colony is honey-bound As workers run out of room to put incoming nectar they will begin putting it into the brood chamber 😞 This is why it is important to inspect hives and have Supers on Early Queen now has little room to lay eggs This means LESS new brood coming on - Three weeks - worker brood development time - colony population begins to decline 😫 Condition may also prompt swarming - possibly with few if any Q-cells being formed

Set out a swarm traps Something — EVERYONE can do this This beekeeper prefers to start with - Personal best choice first 10-frame hive body 8-frame hive body Nuc box Use wood if possible Fill with frames 1 or 2 with old drawn brood comb (if at all possible) - (Your mentor may have some) Add swarm lure if available 2 or 4 undrawn frames Space on either side of brood frames Complete with empty frames or top bars from old broken frames Use old super frames if needed Bees will build comb underneath super frames - this is OK Come as close as possible to the above but, its often not possible - So Something DO NOT omit frames and leave empty spaces In absence of frames bees will draw down comb from the cover above Limit opening to a couple of inches wide You don’t have an entrance reducer? — stuff tight with twisted cloth, even long grass Placement Away from parent colonies as far as possible You don’t have bees now? - Move on to next step Up off the ground - as high as possible (Swarms look for high entrances) Even 5 or 6 feet high is good Be safe - Box full of bees is heavy Your chances of capturing a swarm? 30-50% Depends on time of year (April, May, June are best - roughly in that order) Number of nearby colonies Appropriateness of the swarm trap to bees preferences Luck A good reference of this is the book Honeybee Democracy, by Tom Seeley

Capture your own swarm: - Be vigilant You have to see it first Be Prepared in advance See attached power point below (Quick edit of a presentaton) most relevant material begins about Slide 10 If you are not prepared or don’t wish to try Search net for “Honey Bee Swarm” “Your area” Swarms find their own “new home” and leave - Probably will not survive the winter Do your best to see that the swarm receives a Good Home with a beekeeper

Remember: The Primary Intent of the above is AWARENESS This NOT DEFINITIVE Advise Work with your mentor, or other credible source These are the views of one beekeeper - There are other valid opinions