24 : What to Do About Swarming MANAGING THE BEES’ NATURAL URGE
What to Do About Swarming
Dinah Sweet, MSc S
warming is the bees’ natural way of increasing the number of colonies and surviving in the wild, with some colonies more genetically predisposed than others to divide in this way.
The colony splits into two or
more units. Depending on when in the season this happens, each should collect enough food to survive the following winter but in the wild only 20–25% of swarms make it (Seeley, 2010). In every year about half of all colonies will swarm at some point during the season. May and June are the most likely times but swarms can happen at any time from April to September and it is important to be prepared for this. Allowing your colony to swarm is irresponsible, especially in
towns and suburbs. As well as annoying neighbours and the general public who are anxious if they see a swarm, swarms often like settling in chimneys and attics where they are a nightmare to remove. The beekeeper (like a good girl/boy scout) should always be prepared for any eventuality with enough spare equipment available. Pre-emptive splitting of a colony can be one way to prevent swarming and the loss of bees and honey so I will discuss this next month. In this article I will explain how to recognise swarm cells and carry out an artifi cial swarm, in order to allow the bees to fulfi l their maximum potential.
Swarm Triggers
Our series continues with a look at what a bees do naturally: swarm!
www.bee-craft.com
There are several swarm triggering factors such as poor quality and quantity of queen substance (from an older queen), not enough space for the queen to lay in, nowhere to put the nectar and too many bees crowded into the brood chamber. Other factors (such as poor weather conditions, poor forage and high temperatures) may also trigger the swarming process. We can put a number of practices in place which may delay or prevent swarming.
Swarms can land in awkward places!
However, even a colony headed by a very young queen can soon become congested in the brood chamber. It is therefore important to add drawn comb ready for the queen to lay eggs in, replacing old, mouldy or tattered comb. Also it is essential to put supers on well before they are needed so there is plenty of space for the nectar. There are factors that we just cannot control, such as the weather. Often when it has been cold and rainy for a time, causing the bees to
An unsealed queen cell indicates that swarming is imminent. Here the queen larva is just visible on a bed of royal jelly
April 2015 Vol 97 No 4
huddle together crammed into the brood chamber, they may make swarm cells. Swarm management, as I advocate here, is working and engaging with the bees so that their swarming impulse is used for both their and our advantage.
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Claire Waring
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