Beekeeping > Swarms, Cut Outs, Trap Outs and Bee Trees
Caught a swarm... now what?
Robin:
Hello everyone,
I have captured my first swarm!
Although because the size was very unexpected I only had 1 deep and one medium on hand (My other deep frames are deployed amongst traps). When I transferred the swarm from the box to the deep I couldn't believe how many bees I ended up with. After talking to the property owners and neighbours for about an hour as the rest of the swarm must have returned and settled into there mode of transportation. The cluster filled a large potion of the deep, so in my panic stuck a medium on.
Should I swap out the medium for a deep or just let things play out for the next couple of weeks and take what I get. I guess my main concern is long term planning for another Nova Scotia winter where I have been coached to keep two deeps and how to make that transition from the medium to a deep down the road.
Thanks in advance.
Some Day:
With that big of a swarm I would put 2 deeps of foundation with the medium on top. Swarms will draw out comb in a hurry, take advantage of that. If you have a frame of open brood you could put it into the bottom deep to help anchor the swarm.
Bakersdozen:
I agree with Some Day. I am not familiar with NS beekeeping, but I would have them draw out as much comb as possible. The medium may not provide enough comb for food stores to overwinter with. You could feed 1:1 sugar syrup to help them with all that comb building. Swarms are great at comb building. Congratulations on your first swarm!
Robin:
Great thank you. My next question is, I have a swarm trap on my property. Both the trap and an old tree were seeing some interest from what I assume were scouts (maybe robbers?). Should I leave the trap in the event the swarm possibly leaves again and maybe they will end up there or get rid of it all together?
Some Day:
Keep the swarm trap up. I have caught more than one swarm at the same location during a season. They were about 3 weeks apart. The scouts are probably from a different hive than your swarm.
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