Beemaster's International Beekeeping Forum

BEEKEEPING LEARNING CENTER => GENERAL BEEKEEPING - MAIN POSTING FORUM. => Topic started by: bailey on January 12, 2013, 04:28:25 pm

Title: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: bailey on January 12, 2013, 04:28:25 pm

Well folks its coming soon.   
Swarm season in south east Louisiana is fast approaching!!!!!!!
Just went out to look at back yard hives.  Many bees orienting right now. And the best part?  Drones flying in and out of 3 hives possibly more :piano: :piano:
Not just out on landing board but flying in and out!!!!
Guess my plans to scout swarm trapping sites tomorrow is right on time! 
To you northern guys I apologize for this message. 
To you southern boys.  Get it gear guys!!!!!   It's coming quick!!!!
Swarm season always makes me feel like a kid at Christmas!!!
Bailey

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: blanc on January 12, 2013, 04:59:59 pm

Hope that means early nucs Bailey!  :-D Looking forward to getting them from you and have two hives eyed out for removal already so looking for a productive year.

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: bailey on January 12, 2013, 07:36:26 pm

If I see this continue next 2 weeks or so I will be making nucs early!!!  Love the idea of a good early start. 
I'm getting loads of reservations and need to start as early as possible !
I call it a great problem to have but that's just me :-D
Bailey

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: RHBee on January 12, 2013, 09:54:21 pm

I'm seeing drones to. Don't know how to build swarm traps or where to place the. Got some reading you could suggest?

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: Greg on January 12, 2013, 11:27:38 pm

I saw a couple of drones this week as well.

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: bailey on January 13, 2013, 07:47:58 am

For ray.   Best swarm trap is an old nuc with bee smell in it. 
Read up by doing a search for swarm trapping here on bee master.
Bailey

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: Terry N on January 13, 2013, 01:59:15 pm

Central pa guy here has bees, out with warm yesterday...anybody else?

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: Mbeck on January 13, 2013, 02:24:30 pm

I have a ton of drones here, I'm going to graft tomorrow!

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: bud1 on January 14, 2013, 10:08:26 am

baily boy. dont get tooo charged fo a month. been keeping up wid youalls fo yrs as youall are 2-3 weeks ahead o me. earliest i ever caught swarm was last week o march. i start getting bait hives ready when one of you 3 post that you done seen queen cells and you know jp gona call while ridding some where. every time i hang swarm traps early gota go back and clean out waspnest, cause they sho ant gona go in with wasp.

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: VolunteerK9 on January 14, 2013, 10:49:13 am

Checked my hives this weekend...no drones yet this far East.

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: hardwood on January 14, 2013, 11:18:09 am

Never stopped with the drones here this year and have picked up two swarms already just this last week. Our coldest month is usually Feb though so we'll have to see how things go.

Scott

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: bailey on January 14, 2013, 11:49:20 am

Hey bud.  I'm betting one of us 3 down here will have a swarm call before mid feb this year.   
Last year it was 25 th according to jp.   
My neighbor has what looks like a ligustrum blooming in his back yard right now!

Very odd weather this year!!!
Bailey

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: tefer2 on January 14, 2013, 06:50:37 pm

Scott, you need to start a new thread and catch us up. Welcome back!

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: hardwood on January 14, 2013, 07:27:37 pm

Will do...I just got my internet back a couple of days ago.

Scott

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: gov1623 on January 19, 2013, 10:10:38 pm

I never stopped seeing drones in my hives this winter. I'm also getting my swarm traps together. I caught one last year third week of February. I got a couple early last year but when about April hit I couldn't even keep up with them. I had 20 traps set out last year that caught about 25 swarms.

Title: Re: Early spring coming. Drones are flying!!!!!!
Post by: johng on January 26, 2013, 09:49:46 pm

This has been a very weird year so far. My hives are just full of bees, honey pushing out through the inner cover full. I should of added supers a few weeks ago full. I have never saw them packed so full this early in the year. Late Jan. and Feb. are normally our coldest months so I don't know how this is going to play out. If it stays like this I'm going to graft the first week in Feb.