The Accidental Smallholder Forum
Livestock => Bees & Beekeeping => Topic started by: Fieldfare on June 21, 2015, 07:12:07 pm
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Hi all- one of my colonies has swarmed. I knocked into a box and moved it into an empty hive (about 5 yds away). The queen was in the hive as workers were fanning the entrance. This morning they have all gone!
Maybe I should have left the collection box closer to the original swarm site and waited until dusk before moving? (although I thought I should have been close enough for the fanning to have worked?) ? Or was it that they just didn't like the hive?
Any tips to prevent this happening again?
Thanks!
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They need to be more than three feet away from the original hive the further the better. But sometimes they don't like the accommodation offered! You should have been better dropping them into an upturned box with a space at the bottom so that the foragers can get in and out. Leave them till late evening of early morning to move them into a hive. put some fondant in for them so that they have a ready supply of food. Also if you just have a few frames in the brood box close them down with a blank
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Hi- thanks for the advice. I'll try that next time. I guess it is just one of those things that sometimes they just don't stick!
cheers