Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
This type of occurrence suggests that the second newly mated queen - or even a virgin
in a hive - may swarm with half the remaining workers while another virgin mates and
takes over, thus depleting the colony even further. This is known as an after-swarm.
If a colony sends out several after-swarms, this can make it worthless. I've seen some
tiny little swarms that are of no use at all and, if they occur late in the year, they rarely
survive.
Prime-swarms
But back to the original plan, in which the old queen in the company of around half the
workers departs the hive. This is known as a prime swarm. Older workers are believed
to initiate this using both body language and noise signals. The queen is fed less for
some time before the flight and her egg-laying rate decreases so that she can fly more
easily.
Once the swarm has left the hive, it usually congregates first at some point not far from
the original hive. It hangs there for several hours, waiting for the scouts to direct them
to the new home. This is the point when most people see a swarm, and it is at this point
that it is most easily captured.
Catching a swarm
This is mostly easy - possibly the easiest thing about beekeeping. If you see a swarm
leaving the hive or flying past you, follow it until it hangs up. You can then (if it is
conveniently sited) shake it into a box, put some sort of lid over the box allowing a
small entrance for bees to go in and out, and leave it there, preferably in the shade,
until the evening. If the mass of bees stays in the box, this means you have the queen
in there and all is well. If the bees gradually leave the box and hang up again, they are
clustering around the queen, which you missed. You then have to shake the bees - in
one sharp shake, if possible - into the box again hoping that, this time, the queen falls
in as well. She usually does. Obviously, if you have an empty nucleus box or something
similar, this makes the operation easier, but I have used anything handy - cardboard
shoe-boxes, for example. In such situations, you know it is a new swarm and so it will
very likely be peaceful.
