Comments on: Why Do Bees Swarm?

By: Janet Girard

Janet Girard — Thu, 24 May 2018 16:58:09 +0000

I opened my small compost container last night and found a hive starting. While I love bees, I do not have the equipment and worry about them stinging my dogs and cats (and me). Do you have contacts for beekeepers in the Los Angeles County area that would take them? I’m pretty positive they are honey bees.

Thanks

By: Jim Jungwirth

Jim Jungwirth — Wed, 28 Mar 2018 17:09:30 +0000

In reply to George Hipp. The older the queen, the more likely she is to swarm. One of the only sure ways to prevent swarming is to replace the queen. first year queens tend not to swarm, no matter how crowded they become. I have also used the demaree(sp?) method, where I rotated boxes, mostly because the queen is likely to be in the top box and there is usually some additional room to lay in the bottom box. Plus, the queen keeps moving up, so she believes there is room. Obviously labor intensive because you should rotate every two weeks or so. I also make sure there is plenty of expansion room in honey supers during this spring swarm time. I tend to put on foundation supers at this time because of the high percentage of worker bees who have active wax glands, which may also generate swarm pressure.

By: Keeping Backyard Bees

Keeping Backyard Bees — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 13:44:53 +0000

In reply to George Hipp.

Hi George,

The most recent MOTHER EARTH NEWS and FRIENDS podcast has great advice on this. In essence, she recommends rearranging their brood to leave open frames in the middle. https://www.motherearthnews.com/podcast/catch-a-swarm-zepz1804zcbru

By: George Hipp

George Hipp — Thu, 22 Mar 2018 13:40:35 +0000

So. .. how do you prevent the hive by swarming? I have had to capture several swarms and return to the hive or make a new hive. I thought it was something to do with leaving too much or too little space in the brood box(s)