[Kate and her Ducks]

 

They will do their own thing!

Luckily no oil seed rape to talk about round here as we're in a city but they do generally worry me if I think I'm not giving them the best chance. Despite the miserable weather they have put down a super and a half although that will slow right up now they've swarmed. Should keep them going for a while if the weather doesn't pick up.
I am by no means complacent about the fact that although unlikely they could always swarm again. There was A LOT of bees in the main hive despite having already swarmed. Hoping I don't get a series of castes given how big the colony still is. Hopefully reducing them to one QC will stop that but guess noting will if they have set their little hearts on moving house.

[Yorkie]

I bumped into our lotty officer on site yesterday afternoon.  She was taping off a path because there was a stonking swarm hanging over the path from a tree (it was about 2' long -  the swam I mean  ).

She rang me this afternoon to say that there had been 2 more swarms reported & removed, and to ask me to double check tomorrow what the situation was!

They were ignoring three mini clusters which looked as though they were about to move on of their own accord.

We've never had these problems on site before.  One tenant has a hive or two near the tree (he's on holiday at present), and a tenant on a site the other side of the road also has some - and was able to help deal with the swarms.

[Kate and her Ducks]

Apparently it has been a bit of a funny year for it with lots of swarms. I don't really have anything to compare to as it's only my second year.

Sorry to have lost the bees in my swarm but also really kind of wish I had seen it too.

[Oliveview]

Driving into town this morning I noticed a load of beehives in a field, there looked about 50 or more, all spread out around the field (which has herbs planted in, last year it was basil, it smelt like cats as we drove past)

Pamela

[Kate and her Ducks]

Sorry to have lost the bees in my swarm but also really kind of wish I had seen it too.

Hmm. I think the saying is "Be careful what you wish for..."

Having gone through the hive again with my mentor and left just one queen cell in the colony and been made to promise not to go in and interfere for at least 2 weeks, I was having a restful Sunday morning, enjoying watching the bees flying off to forage in the first nice weather of the week...

...They had obviously been cooped up all week with the constant rain so there was a lot of them coming out to fly...

...Hmm. That's really A LOT of bees and they are not flying off, just forming a great cloud above the garden...

...Bother as Pooh Bear would say. Or as I said "MUUUUMMMM! My bees are swarming, AGAIN!"

It was quite amazing to watch as they all gently moved across the road and settled in the bush in the middle of my opposite neighbours garden. Within 15-20 mins you would have never known anything had happened.

Mum arrived down and we collected them without too much fuss and only marginal interest from the neighbours. Luckily the owners of the house were away on holiday so no inconvenience to them which is a relief.

Starting to feel like a bad beekeeper but also exciting to collect my first swarm (well technically a cast) so will feel far better prepared if I have to do it alone next time.

[SnooziSuzi]

When my bees swarmed last year they had decided to settle on a nearby cherry tree, but by the time I got to my allotment to get a box or something to put them in I was told of a vast noisy cloud that flew across a few allotments and off down towards a local copse.

I said at the time I wish that I'd seen it happen and even the old fellas said it was something they hadn't seen before but I can imagine how it would be scary for people that aren't familiar with swarming.

Good luck with re-hiving your 'swarm'

[Kate and her Ducks]

That was my greatest worry really. Luckily despite not that early on a Sunday morning only one person seemed to be about. He hightailed it indoors from painting his fence but came out for a chat when he saw me out and watching them. Came over for a chat and was more interested than anything.

Will be glad to be moving soon so we don't need to worry about upsetting neighbours when things like this happen.

[darren64]

its quite amazing how big the casts can be,I'm having to move mine because of the neighbours,I lost another swarm despite being very thorough(I thought)

[Kate and her Ducks]

Yes, I was amazed how big it was for a cast. The noise of them all being out together was also pretty impressive!

[SnooziSuzi]

Well, I sited my empty hive in its new home; now I'm hoping that some bees take a liking to it and move in

My allotment neighbours have their top bar and warre hives there too so it's a nice little bee community

Feel free to tell your girls to fly north east of you

[Debz]

I remember one summer sitting outside my tent on holiday and there was a loud unusual noise.  I looked up and there was a swarm passing by.  It was the first time I had seen it happen and I didn't find it scary at all.  I was too fascinated by it to be scared. 

[Oliveview]

Can I update on the beehives please! There are approx 150 hives in the field now, sitting amongst the what looks like sunflowers growing (sown much later than the other fields close by)
How far would a bee fly to find a flower? Not that these bees will have far to fly once the sunflowers open

Pamela

[SnooziSuzi]

they'll generally fly up to about 3 miles away from the hive, depending on where the good forage is. 

You're right, once those sunflowers open up they won't be flying far

[darren64]

I've had a disasterous year,lost a swarm 2 days before I was gonna A S,then the new queen disappeared so I put a frame of eggs from another keeper in,that came to nowt so I had to buy a queen,I put her in yesterday so fingers crossed

[Kate and her Ducks]

Sorry you have had such a bad year. My swarm control attempts have been almost entirely unsuccessful! In total have lost a swarm and 2 large casts from what was my only hive.  That's despite at tmps at AS and am up to 3 colonies now. The two nucs are doing well and all 3 colonies have laying queens so not too bad.

Looking forward to looking through them tomorrow and see how they're getting on. Don't think I'm going to get much honey this year but hopefully come out of the year with more bees than I went in.