Artificial Swarm Update

[Dunkel]

I tried the artificial swarm technique to prevent a swarm.  The split made a new queen and is now laying.  Finally went back in the original, found capped brood and finally found the queen.  She was new and dragging around the evidence of a mating flight.  Still plenty of bees but I am pretty sure they still swarmed.  Oh well at least I didn't loose a whole hive of bees.  I think it would have worked if I had got to them sooner.

[LazyBkpr]

Not necessarily...   I have read articles from some well known "experts" that claim that the "old" queen is denied the promised land after swarming..  The claim is that once the new hive is established she is replaced...

   I have seen it happen, but, I have also more often than not seen the old queen remain for three to four years.
   Has anyone else seen this?

[Dunkel]

So I should have removed the queen to a nuc and split the queen cells up in the two halves?  I was going to remove the new queen and reunite the hive.  But the spring flow is MIA due to the rain so it worked out the same, since I used some of the extra cells for nucs.  Except I lost the queen in some way.  Interesting about them replacing old queens in some cases.  This one was from last summer, but who knows but the bees.

[LazyBkpr]

I probably would not have done it any differently than you did, just pointing out that it is possible that once they "felt" they had swarmed, they may have replaced her.

[Dunkel]

Thanks for bringing that up as a possibility, very interesting indeed.  I wasn't clear on thanking you for pointing that out. I am always learning with these things and I appreciate any new insights on these experiments.

[LazyBkpr]

I am always learning with these things

   You and me both Brother!