Worldwide Beekeeping
Beekeeping => General Beekeeping => Topic started by: Jen on March 23, 2014, 08:58:01 pm
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So now that all these swarm stories are coming thru my question is:
If you know that the swarm your are catching is from your colony... why can't we put the swarm bees back in that hive?
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because there can't be two queens in one colony once the parent Queen leaves within a matter of days the virgin queen hatches. because there can't be two queens in the same colony once the swarm emerges it's highly unlikely that I'll ever go back to the old colony of course the old queen didn't come with them
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You can. Just pinch the queen and walk away. They will return to the hive until a cell emerges and they take off with a virgin queen.
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Unless you fix the problem that caused the bees to swarm in the first place they will most likely swarm again. This being said the reason for the hive swarming can be because the hive has a large forager force and because of weather they can't get out of the hive, or the main honey flow plants have not bloomed yet. A lot of times the condition that caused the hive to start swarm preparation have been fixed by the time the hive issues the swarm but once they start they are persistence until they do. Once both queens are back laying the swarm can be placed back on the swarmed hive with a newspaper combine. The queens will seek each other out and fight it out.
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another Jen snip..
why can't we put the swarm bees back in that hive?
tecumseh....
well actually with the proper set up you could. the idea of only one queen in the box is so overrun with exception that this 'rule' hardly seems worth mentioning. probably spelled all wrong (I am very good at that) but simply look up demaree method for one clear cut exception to this rule.
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Not me, since I now have two good strong hives going from the swarm, looks that way to me, I can expect more honey making this year if the weather hole out.
Ken