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Subject: Orange County, NC Beekeepers

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  • From: Erika Wittchen <erika48 AT gmail.com>
  • To: ocba AT lists.ibiblio.org
  • Subject: [ocba] Help! Imminent swarm control question
  • Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2016 23:47:37 -0400

Hi all, 
Looking for some guidance... Here's the current situation:
We have one hive (and only the one) that came through winter very strong, we inspected a couple weeks ago and added a super on top because they were starting to backfill the broodnest. This past weekend, we installed 2 new packages (so 3 total in our yard).  Today, when we checked the new hives to confirm queen release, we also peeked into the established hive. Unfortunately (but probably not surprisingly) there were at least 3 queen cups with eggs in royal jelly and 2 (that we saw) sealed Queen cells.  

We realize swarming is imminent...but what can we do to minimize impact or even prevent it? One thought would be to do a split to simulate an artificial swarm, but the best way to do this is unclear. Ideas? Since we have 2 new package hives, would it be possible to transfer some of the brood frames and/or nectar frames to the new hives, at the same time as swarm mitigation? We realize that we may be too late to prevent a swarm from a colony that has already made up its mind, but welcome any ideas on how to minimize impact.

Any insights from others' experiences would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks in advance,
Erika



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