# Practice Swarm?



## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Okay, is there such a thing as a practice swarm?

We were out working in the garden (hives are in garden), there was an increase in noise which got our attention.

The bees were bellowing out of the hive and spiraling upwards and around a 40 to 50 ft. Pine (which is surrounded by other pines and blackberries). They were clustering around the trunk about 30 ft. up. Very little activity at the home hive, so we fired up the smoker to get a closer look at the hive and the bees started returning and bearding the front. 
We suited up to get some pictures of the bearding and my husband found the marked Queen on the ground under the hive stand, picked her up and placed her at the entrance and she walked in and her bees began to follow. 

So what is going on? Did they swarm and then change their minds? Was it a practice?

Going to get in there this evening, perhaps. We've been putting off that colonies Spring inspection because it's pretty darn aggressive! This queen is going into her third year. The other colony we started the same year has been gone through and we found an unmarked Queen, reversed the boxes, added a super and excluder.


----------



## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

Well, they did it again...swarmed to the same tree, came back to hive, marked Queen on the ground again.

Bees are NEVER boring...~lol~...


----------



## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

If the queen is on the ground it may be she can't fly...


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Yup that is swarming but the queen can't seem to fly for some reason. Get a new hive ready and if you find the queen on the ground again put her in the new hive. The swarm might just go into it and stay if the queen is in there.
The hive they are uissueing from is probably got several queen cells in it. 

 Al


----------



## agmantoo (May 23, 2003)

If you find the queen again clip her wing so that she has to stay in the hive you give her.


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

Since she can't seem to fly right now I feel just placeing her in a new hive will be good enough. Clipping queens isn't for some one who doesn't have the 
resorces or experiance to buy or raise a new queen.

 Al


----------



## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

I'm sure that at one time or another you all have seen the exodus that we witnessed...WOW! it was such an amazing sight, we set up a couple lawn chairs and watched in total awe.
Ma Nature is sheer poetry in motion...WOW!

We suited up again after lighting the smoker again and we opened up the hive, we got halfway through the top deep and discovered several Queens in the making so we put everything back in place, put the marked Queen up top, added an excluder and a super and closed things up.
We've decided to let Ma Nature and her Bees do what they need to do. We expect them to swarm again when they are ready and we're okay with that, not just because they're so darn aggressive, but also because we know that they do what they do because they know better than us what they need to do...~lol~...
We know that we can replace them because we are on our Assoc. Swarm list so no worries.
WOW! it was so amazing!

Thank you so much for piping in.
Oh, we went to Michael Bush's site and discovered that he has some great Swarm control info there...stuff I know I'd read there before but seemed to forget.

Love the Beekeeping 'family'! Thank you!


----------



## Michael Bush (Oct 26, 2008)

Letting things to their natural course results in a huge loss of bees and usually no honey crop... but if you like, that's your option. I would put the queen and half the bees in another box instead...


----------



## alleyyooper (Apr 22, 2005)

I second MB on this one. What a waste of bees when so many are looking to find some to buy now.

 Al


----------



## marinemomtatt (Oct 8, 2006)

If they try to swarm again with that SAME Queen we WILL put her in a different hive that we have gone ahead and set up. There isn't any room on the hive stand so we placed it a bit to the side and behind, (full of drawn foundation and some capped honey from a dead out). 
But if they are successful rearing a new Queen and they start their swarm in the same tree they may as well go cuz we can't get to it (property owner says he'd rather pay us for the bees than have us cutting timber trees down, told him it was HIS bees that were escaping...(he's our Beekeeping partner, we do the work, he pays for half the expenses and gets half the honey)...~lol~... 

I really do appreciate your responses...Thank you!

And YES, I'm keeping notes...our mistakes and all ;o)


----------

