Always fun to catch a swarm. My first package swarmed three weeks after I installed it. Are you going to let them make a new queen in the old hive?

We had a cool spring here,and we are behind too. Yesterday was the hottest day here so far 68 degrees. The wildflowers and berries are exploding now ,I have a queen excluder on my big hive hoping to get a box of spring honey. They are filling it now.

Waiting for a Michael Palmer queen, so I can make a split. Hope it ships soon.

Thanks for the update Jim.

My brain is swarming with replies, but I can't get suspended, now.

Got my mail order queen shipped in from Vermont.



I used two frames of mostly capped brood, and a honey/pollen frame and made up a Nuc to put her in I will release her from the cage in two days.



If they don't kill her I will have three hives now.

Nice laying pattern. looks like your old queen is still going strong.
Jim

Yes she is still laying great. The other frames she had was complete sheet of brood, She didnt miss a cell. Pretty good for a three year old bug. I was going to replace her this year, but will just let them supersede her when they think she is ready.

Jim did your swarm hive make new queen cells? might want to go through and remove all but a couple fat ones. You can use the rest to make nucs if you have enough bees.
Also when watching your swarm video I noticed that big old feeder your using. Thats more for fall feeding, to put on weight fast. I am betting that's the culprit that induced them to swarm. they tend to backfill the brood nest if you over feed them.

I would lose it, and put a small jar feeder under a super, with a screened hole. Put about a dozen pin holes in a peanut butter jar lid,so they don't get it too fast., and backfill the brood nest.

I did not feed my bees this spring at all, they had enough honey left over, I wont feed them until fall, after I rob their honey if they have any..

Jeff,
How long did it take in the mail for the queen to arrive?

Always nervous introducing a new queen. I just read something interesting on introducing
new queens and this author suggested mixing up a light sugar syrup w/a tinge of vanilla extract.
Spray the workers and the queen lightly before you release here, then they all small the same.
Seems they accept a new queen easier.
Food for thought .... good luck !

Great wildflower year so far here, should be a good honey crop if the weather stays nice.

CM It took 3 days express 2 day mail. It usually takes four days to get here. I believe a queen could last 10 days in the mail. they are always nice and lively. They put candy and attendants in to feed her ,so its no problem for her.


I have her hanging In the cage between two frames ,in the partitioned off deep. I let them hang for two days and release them or remove the plug so they can eat through the candy and slow release her.

Last year I had them chew through the candy in one day and accepted her just fine. The two days has always worked for me out of the four that I have done. Re-queening a full size hive might be a different story though. But a small queenless nuc wants a queen.

Our last few weeks weather have been spectacular for here, 70 degree days are the norm. But that don't quite make up for the long drawn our cool spring we had. My bees have put away a little spring honey, I might steal a few frames, I never had any. Our Fireweed will bloom early,looks like around the 4 th we have the dwarf fireweed blooming now.

Just to update: After two days hanging between two frames. I popped the cork and laid the queen cage on the top bars, and she walked right out, ,posed for a picture and then calmly slid down between the frames. I am sure she is excepted just fine.

You can tell by their behavior on the cage if they are biting and clinging tight, not good. if you can move them around with your finger its fine.

Jeff how goes the flow? I am going to work my hives tomorrow, have 6 hives doing good, expect a few hundred ponds of honey this year, I will take some pictures tomorrow.
jim

That's awesome Jim. Glad to hear your hives did so good. I am having fun here. I started with my two overwintered hives, and made three splits. And watched my queen go on a mating flight yesterday that was really cool.

We are in the middle of our fireweed flow now and should go on for another two weeks or more. We are having the nicest,warmest summer, I can remember.

I am using queen excluders ,and running single brood chambers. everything above the bottom deep is honey, the top boxes are being drawn and filled now.

My main hive on the left had two nucs pulled from it and still made a bunch of honey. I stole a few frames from it the other day.

The Nuc on the right just hatched a queen from the hive on the left. She made it through two winters and her daughter mated with Michael Palmer drones. She should be laying anyday.







The hive on the left here had a nuc pulled from it, its my overwintered hive. The hive on the right is the nuc I started June 21 with the MP queen. It already has a deep of honey and working on drawing, and filling a second.





Still capping most now.

Pretty cool Jeff, I added a few supers today to some of my hives today. They are still pulling nector so will proabilty take some honey off later this week. I forgot to take pictures will add some tomorrow.
My one hive that I capture from the swarm has 2 mediums and a regular box on it. Next year I will force all my hives into the one brood box and super them up. Having drawn comb is the ticket.
Jim

Yea this is my first year using queen excluders and a single deep, but only put her down there during the flow. the rest of the time she has the run of two deeps, and no excluder. Its the way to go for honey production IMO
What is your main nectar source there Jim Fireweed ?

How much honey do you leave on for winter?

Hi Jeff, maybe i missed it, do you sell honey and the market good?
sounds like you get quite a bit, maybe good for barter too.

When you feed sugar patties in the winter do you have to give them water also? Glad your getting some honey.

\

I take all the honey and give them sugar syrup in the fall, for their winter feed. I leave a deep on. Last winter they didn't finish it, and I didn't have to feed in the spring, or all summer.



This will be my first season with extra honey. I have just been giving it away so far to friends and family, I might have some to sell after the main harvest next month. I bought some Alaska Fireweed honey once. was $20 a pint jar plus shipping.



No. I don't. They lick the ice off the hive walls from condensation, for water in the winter.

Nice..... Looks like your in the honey this year. Whats the nectar source there ?

I am very fortunate to have my hives in an area that is mostly horse farm country, with a lot of plant diversity all kinds of trees and plants in the area. everything from apple trees to clover so the girl's honey will be a real mix.
I have been closely following the youtube channel that you put me on to Canadian Beekeeper's Blog, I have some bigger plans for next year.
I kept the swarm I caught in a single brood box following his example and should end up with a good load of honey off that swarm.
Still feel like I don't know anything about bee keeping but as they say I don't know where I am going, but I am making good time!

Looks like your doing great Jim. You know you can put the queen down in the lower box now, and put on a excluder, and they will backfill the upper brood nest with honey after it hatches out. thats what most do with the singe brood box set up, to get them started filling above. They will push all the honey up then. You can then harvest that second deep too.

Make sure the queen has room to lay in the bottom box at all times then. And enough space above for the honey. You can move a frame of capped brood above the excluder, and move empty comb down, if it gets tight for space. if you have enough deeps that is.