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Date: | Wed, 4 Jan 2012 10:31:31 -0600 |
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As long as the subject of what to teach to the nubee has come up, I have a
question for the group. As we find more and more beekeepers in urban areas,
swarming becomes a greater concern - the good neighbor policy. There are
two pieces of equipment that I have never discussed in my beginning
beekeeping classes that I think are useful in dealing with swarming - the
Snelgrove board and the slatted rack. I am considering adding these to my
curriculum.
I am impressed by how useful a Snelgrove board is - also called a double
screen. It is a good means of discouraging swarming... especially with a
strong overwintered colony. (There are other good uses for the Snelgrove
board.) It has the advantage of being an IPM approach to varroa and offers
the potential of raising a new queen from local stock.
I have also used a slatted bottom board - an invention of C. C. Miller a
hundred years ago - that appears to me to help keep bees from swarming
during the warm days even in a first year colony.
As has been mentioned here before, the current queens seem to be more
swarm-prone than only a couple of decades ago. Combine this with the many
new beekeepers in cities and the problem is exacerbated.
I am wondering if encouraging the use of these two techniques would be
useful to my students. It makes learning to keep bees just a little more
complicated, but might be worth the time. Does anyone else include the use
of these in their bee classes? Do others agree that they are useful in
controlling swarming?
Larry Krengel
Marengo, IL
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