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Author Topic: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?  (Read 7957 times)

Offline Holycow

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How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« on: March 15, 2007, 03:30:08 pm »
Hi,
I caught a swarm on March 4th and installed it an empty poly. hive. Five days later I opened it to make sure I had a queen (I do) and to make sure I had things set up properly inside the hive (they are now)..
I've been feeding 1:1 sugar water since then and everything seems to be going fine. How long until I check the progress inside the hive.
I'm in S. Florida so it's plenty warm, the bees are buzzing.!
Thanks,
--Jeff

Offline pdmattox

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #1 on: March 15, 2007, 06:31:41 pm »
Now is a good time.  :-D   Once every other week?  I check mine once a week this time of year.  If there is a flow on (which is more the case than not in your location) you need to make sure they don't run out of room ( i use the 70-80% rule).  Understudy will be on soon and can help you a lot ( he is a local native). :mrgreen:

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #2 on: March 15, 2007, 07:58:03 pm »
I would say once a week, once every other week is also good. 
What is the status on comb?
What is the status on brood?
Are they flying in with pollen?
How often are they drinking down the jar of sugar water?

Things sound good so far.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
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Offline Holycow

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #3 on: March 15, 2007, 09:47:38 pm »
Hi,
Current layout is two 10 frame hive boxes, with a pvc excluder on top (turned sideways) and then a med super.
 They are drinking at least 8.5 cups of sugar water a day (that's the entire feeder), workers are coming in with pollen (no shortage here), I saw no eggs when I checked last week... They had about 1/4 of the space in the hive built up, a bit of pollen and honey are in there, but no cells were sealed shut yet..
As a side note, Holy-Christmas! it was tough seperating the boxes on the poly hive. Had to use alot of force and when they come apart it's quite jarring ..with the expected results... almost dropped the upper box but hung on. Ha!
 Sounds like I might check it this Sat...

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #4 on: March 15, 2007, 10:01:14 pm »
Hi,
Current layout is two 10 frame hive boxes, with a pvc excluder on top (turned sideways) and then a med super.
Get rid of the medium super if the comb isn't fully drawn in the other box they can't keep the temprature right for brood. You can probaly ditch the excluder when you pull the box off.

Quote
They are drinking at least 8.5 cups of sugar water a day (that's the entire feeder), workers are coming in with pollen (no shortage here), I saw no eggs when I checked last week... They had about 1/4 of the space in the hive built up, a bit of pollen and honey are in there, but no cells were sealed shut yet..
As a side note, Holy-Christmas! it was tough seperating the boxes on the poly hive. Had to use alot of force and when they come apart it's quite jarring ..with the expected results... almost dropped the upper box but hung on. Ha!
 Sounds like I might check it this Sat...
The lack of brood and lack of comb since Mar 4th has me slightly concerned they should be in comb building mode. Check next week. If you don't see any brood cells, you need to get a brood frame for the hive to keep the numbers up.

Be smooth when you open the hive that much disruption will upset them.

Worst attach I ever suffered was when I seperated a hive and it pulled up the frames from the box below and they dropped off. Dropping a box makes nice bees very mean.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline Holycow

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #5 on: March 15, 2007, 10:29:58 pm »
Hi,
There's no lack of comb- they're working like crazy, just no eggs or brood at that point ( I think it had only been 5 days). I think it's still too soon to see brood since eggs take like 15 days or so to hatch? (I'm not sure of that # but it seems right)
Does anyone know how long after "moving in" to a new hive the queen will resume egg laying. I'd suspect the flight and travel is stressful to her system.. so I figured it might take some period to rest up for the egg laying process.
The more I think about it all the more curious I become.. perhaps I'll open it up tomorrow.
--Jeff

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #6 on: March 15, 2007, 10:48:54 pm »
I would have thought you would have seen larva in the cells by now. That is why I was concerned.

Bee life cycle
http://www.answers.com/topic/honey-bee-life-cycle

Don't go into the hive tomorrow. Go in on Saturday or Sunday. Be paitent.

Sincerely,
Brendhan

The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

Offline pdmattox

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #7 on: March 15, 2007, 11:03:49 pm »
What Understudy says.  She don't need to be disrupted right now.

Offline Ronnie Moore

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #8 on: March 16, 2007, 12:40:10 am »
I captured one march 9th and two days latter they were bring in pollen and I found the Queen do you need to replace the swarming Queen with a new Queen

Offline pdmattox

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #9 on: March 16, 2007, 01:06:07 am »
I wouldn't, there is nothing wrong with her in my opinion. 

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #10 on: March 16, 2007, 08:06:46 am »
I captured one march 9th and two days latter they were bring in pollen and I found the Queen do you need to replace the swarming Queen with a new Queen
No.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
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Offline Brian D. Bray

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #11 on: March 17, 2007, 07:43:50 pm »
A queen in a swarm will begin laying eggs before the comb is fully drawn.  You should be seeing eggs and larvae (by this time) in a regular pattern in the partially drawn combs.  The bees finish building the comb and cap the cells as the brood develops.

If you aren't seeing eggs or brood the hive chamber is to cool.  remove the super and you should then see egg laying begin in a few days.  If not you maybe queenless.
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Offline Holycow

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #12 on: March 18, 2007, 02:39:28 pm »
Hi,
Looked in the hive this morning and YES there are eggs and some tiny larva in the 4-5 day old range. They were on the first frame I pulled so I stopped there. (I'm worried about accidnetly squashing the queen.)
Also noticed some drone cells at the very top of the hive, these guys must have been laid the day of/ or the next day after the swarm moved in.. and .. above the excluder.. what ever that means. All eggs I saw were all the way int he back of the cells so a queen put them there. No eggs above the exluder, just maybe 5 drone cells with honey in all the surrounding comb.
Thanks,
--Jeff

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #13 on: March 18, 2007, 03:14:28 pm »
Awesome. Now you just have to leave them alone for another week and let the queen get full production going. Sounds like things are going fine.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
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Offline sean

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #14 on: March 18, 2007, 04:32:54 pm »
Hey understudy, is there any reason why a queen would stop laying for awhile? I ask because occasionally(actually about twice) i have gne into a few of my hives and have seen no eggs or brood and then a few days after i start seeing eggs etc. can/does this happen or is it just my inexperience in not observing properly 

Offline Understudy

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Re: How soon to check inside a hive after swarm capture?
« Reply #15 on: March 18, 2007, 05:43:18 pm »
The queen will not lay eggs in any cell she does not find acceptable. So maybe (just a guess) she is waiting until the cells are ready for her to lay eggs in. She may also be on another part of the hive. For example let's say she has filled the left side of the hive with eggs. The cells look empty and she starts moving toward the right. After a few days the cells on the left side are capped. But the quuen has been laying on the right. Untill those cells hatch and clean up she isn't going to lay anywhere. Once the cells on the left are cleaned up she will head back over and start on those.

Sincerely,
Brendhan
The status is not quo. The world is a mess and I just need to rule it. Dr. Horrible

 

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