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Wed, 28 Apr 1999 10:05:00 -0500 |
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Hello All,
I have had pretty good luck with queens from swarm cells, so when I find a
colony preparing to swarm I will split it up into nucs using the swarm cells
for the queen source. I mentioned in an earlier post about finding a colony
ready to swarm in early April, too soon for around here. I made three nucs
and only one has a successfully mated queen. They hatched in all three and
destroyed other cells so I know they were there but they probably never
returned from the mating flight.
Last week I found another colony in the early stages of swarm cell
production. I split this one a little different and just brought home one
nuc. I remember looking close and did not notice the queen on the frame. I
placed it in the yard near another colony. This other colony was later
moved and some of the field force ended up in the nuc. It appeared a bit
crowded so I felt it could be moved into a hive body. As I was transferring
the frames I noticed young larvae and eggs. I knew there was not enough
time for the queen to hatch, mate and begin laying. Because it was late in
the day the frames were covered with bees and I could not find the queen.
What I did find was the swarm cell about ready to hatch. I really want the
queen from that cell so I transferred it to yet another nuc. The weather is
warmer and there are a good number of drones so I can hope for a successful
mating.
I realize that sometimes a colony swarms regardless of what you do, but I
didn't think a small nuc would swarm in spite of the fact that the original
queen may still be there. She obviously began laying again, something I
don't think she would do if preparing to swarm. So why did the colony
continue to raise the queen cell? I know they can judge a queen better than
I, but she was doing well and I don't think they want to supersede her. She
is less than a year old, not a drone layer, and has a good brood pattern.
Any thoughts?
Ron Bogansky
Kutztown, PA USA
The only thing worse than a mail carrier with sore feet is a beekeeper with
a bad back!
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