Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
When complete, replace frames on the edge in the bottom box of the new colony, put
another box with frames (drawn foundation are better, with three or four borrowed from
the top box of the other colony), install the new queen using the techniques explained
earlier, put on the inner cover, the feeder (filled with 2:1, water: sugar), and close it
up. Place a wooden entrance reducer in the split box entrance hole so only the smallest
opening is available, and stuff some grass into that hole.
Close up the other colony, first pushing together the remaining brood frames and re-
placing those missing on the edges. You now have two colonies where there was only
one before. This is also a good time to requeen the donor colony. Ordering two queens
isn't a bad idea. And, if one doesn't work out, the two colonies can be rejoined as a
single unit.
Examine your new colony on the same schedule as you did your new package last
season, checking the queen(s) (she, or they, should be accepted with little difficulty),
food, and the feeder. After a day or two, the bees will have cleared away the grass and
will begin foraging as if this is exactly what they expected.
After the right amount of time, make sure the new queen is released and begins lay-
ing. Once that's underway, treat your new colony like your package and enjoy watching
the growth.
No matter what you do, though, sometimes that colony will swarm, either before you
get ready to do your manipulations, or even after you've done everything right. It hap-
pens, but you may be able to retrieve the bees that left, that is, if you're home, if you
know they swarmed (check again for the signs of swarming), if you find them after they
swarmed, and if they're not 50' (15.2 m) off the ground. Simply, they may leave and
you're not aware of it until later, and you have contributed to the diversity of insect life
in your community.
If you happen to catch that swarm or another, and if expansion plans are not in your
future, you have some options. Give the bees to someone who is planning on expand-
ing, start a new colony to sell, or join them to one of yours.
Catching Swarms
When a swarm leaves a colony, it usually doesn't travel far before it stops to rest. The
swarm will gather in or on almost anything: a tree limb, fence post, family picnic table,
car fender, lamppost, or street sign.
Scout bees can be seen dancing on the surface of the swarm, indicating the location
of a place they have found. The more vigorous the dance—like the dance relating a nec-
tar source—the better the location. There may be several dancers performing at once,
indicating several options to be weighed. The bees seldom make the final decision im-
