Should You Let The Bees Swarm?

Inexperienced beekeepers want their bees to swarm because it is the only method of increase that they know of but this is a poor method. The worst swarmers produce the greatest number of colonies; while it is the big non-swarming colonies that produce the greatest crops of honey. Bees at best can carry only a small load and it takes a certain minimum number of bees to feed the colony and a goodly number of housekeepers and nurse bees. Therefore it stands to reason that the greater the number of workers the larger the yield of honey will be.

This is an excellent frame of brood such as you should find in a colony headed by a young, vigorous queen. There are two sealed queen cells on this frame. They look about like peanuts, one is at the bottom of the comb to the center and the other is to the right center, just below the unsealed cells. At the bottom of the comb is another queen cell that is just being built.

When bees swarm they sometimes take off directly for the woods and often settle high in the trees where they cannot be caught easily. A swarm of bees in the air is a swarm out of control and the experienced beekeeper will find it much easier, quicker and more satisfactory and profitable to divide his colonies when he needs to increase the number of colonies and to introduce laying queens to the divisions thus preventing swarming whenever possible.

How To Hive A Swarm

Once the bees have swarmed and they have settled within convenient reach it is advisable to hive them as the early or prime swarms usually produce more honey than the average. It is advisable to first spray the swarm with cold water; a gentle spray from a hose is OK or water can be dashed out of a pail onto them. Use a generous amount of water, a gallon or more, and do not be afraid of drowning the bees.

Attach two legs to a long ladder for a convenient setup to catch your swarms.

It is not uncommon to find bees building their comb in trees, abandoned boxes, automobiles, buildings, etc., but those in the open usually perish early in the winter.

When bees swarm out they usually cluster nearby on a tree, bash, post or anything available. Swarming bees are usually gentle and may remain clustered for several days but they may leave in half an hour for their new home.

It is well to have one or more hives nailed and painted in advance and fitted with comb foundation so that any swarm may be hived promptly. It is also helpful to take a frame of unsealed brood and honey from a strong hive, from which the bees have been brushed off, and place this in the center of the new hive. This will help to hold the bees and will provide food in case of bad flying weather but this is not absolutely necessary and sometimes the swarm will abandon the hive in any case.

The bees usually settle on a small limb which may be cut off and the swarm carried like a bunch of grapes to the prepared hive where it can be shaken on top of the frames of the opened hive, or better yet remove half of the frames and shake the swarm into the empty space in the hive. Some beekeepers shake the bees onto a sheet placed in front of the hive. The bees will rush into the hive and in many cases the queen can be seen. In case of more than one queen the extra ones will be killed by the bees and only the best permitted to survive.

The swarms usually cluster on a branch near the hive and can be carried to the hive where they can be shaken in. This is a small swarm.

While a colony of bees normally has one queen a freshly clustered swarm may have half a dozen or more virgin queens. This is due to several virgins hatching out at one time in a hive and the tendency of virgins on their mating flight to go to a flying swarm rather than to return to their own home hive.

In hiving a swarm it is best to remove half of the frames and shake the bees directly into the hive, replacing the frames in an hour or so. If you desire to see the queen place your hive on a white sheet and shake the bees on it. The bees will spread out and rush into the hive; this is a sight well worth seeing.

About half an hour after the swarm has been hived it is best to place the hive on the spot you wish to keep it permanently so that the bees may mark their location. The few stragglers will be attracted to their new home by the buzzing swarms. If not convenient to move the hive promptly it certainly should be moved the first night to its permanent location. Some grass should be shoved lightly into the entrance. The bees coming out through the wilted grass the next morning will take notice of their new location.

WARNING: DO NOT BLOCK THE ENTRANCE AIR TIGHT AS THE BEES MAY SMOTHER in hot weather.