I had a beekeeper that had his bees flying around the front of his hive in large numbers. He felt swarming was imminent. He called me and asked what he should do. He has several hives.
I told him to got out immediately an switch the swarming colony with a weaker hive. So he moved swarm Hive A to weak Hive B. Then weak Hive B to swarm Hive A. He then went through the hive that wanted to swarm and removed the swarm cells. Now the field bees fly back to where they think they live. Hive B the weak one, gets all the field bees from Hive A and now gets stronger. Hive A the strong hive gets the field bees from Hive B and now gets weaker. This solves swarming issues immediately. Now Hive B needs to be watched for swarming because it will be stronger.
The beekeeper was lucky he was home and saw this in the morning. By noon the bees may have swarmed.
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picking up bees in California
This blog is for beekeepers in Northern climates. I will be describing what I am doing with my bees on a monthly schedule. Copying any text or photos is forbidden except with written authorization of the author.
Disclaimer:
This blog explains how I keep bees. It works for me, it might not work for you. Use my methods at your own risk.
Always wear protective clothing and use a smoker when working bees.
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What I am doing this month
- put supers on strong overwintered colonies
- Treat overwintered colonies for mites
- Add second box to package bees when ready
- Divide colonies
picking up bees in California
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About Me
- Jim
- Stillwater, Minnesota
- I have kept bees for 28 years and run 25 colonies. We have changed our business name to Bees and Honey LLC. We are still selling honey at our Stillwater location. Honey fills (still in Stillwater) anytime but please call