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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Randall Austin <ra41717 AT gmail.com>
  • To: Julie Spero <jcstevens AT gmail.com>
  • Cc: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: Re: [ocba] swarm cells advice?
  • Date: Sun, 24 Jun 2012 20:41:36 -0400

Hey Julie,

Can you perhaps send a photo of the suspect swarm cells? A cell phone photo would be fine. That would help with confirmation of what's going on. The cells may be supersedure (replacement) cells, just-in-case queen cups, gnarly bits of comb, drone cells or something else. Or they could be swarm cells.

Once you see swarm cells, the bees already have a plan in place to swarm. Adding space at that point makes us feel like we are doing something but it probably won't actually help. But if your hive is well established, having it swarm at this time of year may not be a problem at all.

Did you see the queen when you did your inspection? They could be aggressive because they are queenless. Don't cut out queen cells unless you know for a fact that you have a queen.

The honey flow is over in my neck of the woods. That will often make bees cranky. Also, as you have observed, predator insects in the area can put your bees on edge and make them ultra sensitive. I've had European Brown Hornets buzz by during inspections and the hive instantly flares up. This can happen even to a nice hive during the dry hot summer.

Where are your bees located? Ideally you want them in a quiet out-of-the-way place in full sun. Bees in the shade are meaner than bees kept in full sun. Full sun is also much better with respect to controlling varroa mites and small hive beetles. Our desire for keeping our bees cool in the shade is anthropomorphic. Remember that bees must keep their brood at 95 degrees for them to develop properly. Their temperature rules aren't the same as ours. If we were in the Arizona desert, we may have issues, but here in the NC Piedmont we should keep 'em in the sun.

It is also possible that you've simply got mean bees. If you can, ask an experienced beekeeper to come give you an assessment. There is no need to keep mean bees --- there are plenty of sweet hives out there and you shouldn't settle for less.

Randall Austin

On 6/24/2012 3:30 PM, Julie Spero wrote:
CAJ12J1LE9UwaZMwEze1fJWhbLA_6pymowT1xfy2o4v0hT7ECjg AT mail.gmail.com" type="cite">Hi all,

I'm a new beekeeper this season.  I did a hive inspection this morning (last one was about 3 weeks ago).  I have a hive body and a super.  The two middle frames in the super had some larvae and some capped brood  (about 1/3 of both middle frames).  In the hive body, there were several cells on the lower edges that looked like they might be swarm cells but I'm not sure if the comb is just being drawn in a strange pattern.  I left the cells alone and added another super just in case (the old super was about 3/4 full of capped and uncapped honey. The frames on either end had drawn out but mostly empty comb).   

If they are swarm cells, do I need to go back in and destroy them or will the extra room in the super quell the urge to swarm?  

The bees have also gotten noticeably more aggressive in the past week-- while standing about 2 feet away from the hive earlier in the week, 3 bees flew out at me and one stung me, which was a surprise.  I've heard a clicking sound and also saw a bumblebee fly into the hive but didn't notice either during my inspection.  Any theories on the aggressive behavior?  Perhaps the hot weather?    

Thanks,

Julie


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