Heidi Fredrick:  To find a lab that will check for Nosema and maybe other
bee diseases in your state I'd suggest that you contact the Michigan State
Apiarist Michael Hansen at 616 428 2575 or email at: [log in to unmask]
 
Swarm cells:  For many years I have kept colonies from swarming by making
supercedure cells out of swarm cells.  One day back in 1965 or so it
occurred to me that bee bahavior suggested that this was a technique worth
trying.  To my knowledge it has prevented swarming every time.
 
 For beginners, swarm cells are usually located along the bottom bars of
the frames of a second or third brood nest, along the edge of combs that do
not touch the frame end bars, or along the edges of pass through holes in
the face of the comb.  Supercedure cells are usually in the upper half of a
comb, towards the center of the frame, and built into the comb face.
 
The old queen must not have stopped laying!  Once the queen has quit laying
only drastic measures seem to be successful.  The technique may be used
even if several queen cells are old enough to be slightly darker at the tip
than the body of the cell.  These cells may contain live queens.  Usually
there are a range of age in swarm cells in a hive.  Cells may range from
half built open cells four days old, to cells with a darkening tip from
which a queen will shortly emerge (16 days).
 
Colonies build swarm cells for several reasons some of which are not very
obvious.  Usually, crowded conditions are associated with swarming.  Unless
the crowded conditions are alleviated, swarming can't be prevented just
postponed.  Crowding can be alleviated by moving emerging brood and honey
into another brood nest on top of the bottom two deeps (or a western on top
of three westerns).  Frames with foundation or empty combs are placed among
the combs with eggs and open brood so the queen has several open combs in
which to lay.  If these steps are taken just as swarm cells are being
started and even when they have larvae in them, just remove the cells.
Usually this stops the swarming behavior.
 
If the cells are older as described above I suggest the following
technique.  If the queen is still laying, alleviate the crowded conditions
in the brood nest.  Remove the uncapped swarm cells and the older capped
cells.  Save two to four large, young capped cells.  With a hive tool or
pocket knife create two to four openings in the upper third of the face of
two combs four inches in from the end bars.  Do not cut through the midrib
of the comb.  Using a sharp pocket knife carefully remove two to four
large, young capped swarm cells from the bottom of the frame.  Be careful
to not crush the cells.  If the cells are attached to the bottom bar
carefully cut away some of the bottom bar.  Then remove the cell from the
comb by cutting deep enough to get the base of the cell which contains the
royal jelly.  Transfer the cells into the openings made in the comb face
and carefully push the surrounding wax over the cell base to hold it in the
opening.
 
Everytime I have used this technique the bees have torn down the
supercedure cells, repaired the comb, and the old queen keeps laying
without the colony swarming.  If the bees know the queen is failing they
will raise new queens from the cells.  Sometimes I do think we can fool the
bees, or more properly, take advantage of their normal behaviors.
 
James C. Bach
WSDA State Apiarist
Yakima WA
[log in to unmask]
[log in to unmask]
509 576 3041  phone
509 454 7858  fax