Welcome to the Wedmore and Cheddar division of the Somerset Beekeepers' Association
Tracking Asian hornets in Jersey
SWARMING SEASON is from now until about July.
Due to the current situation, you need to stop your bees from flying away, therefore you need a good swarm prevention system. How do you know if your bees are going to swarm? They will make queen cells, look in them and if there are larva with royal jelly, or a white jelly like substance in the bottom of the cell, they are preparing to swarm. This is when you need to do something. Tearing down the queen cells will NOT stop them swarming, they just get very clever at hiding them, use an older larva and leave within 5 days of your last inspection.
I use the Pagden method, as shown in this video https://youtu.be/BCReKLV6CB4 . When leaving a good queen cell in the parent colony, a good queen cell is an open cell that you can see a nice fat larva swimming in royal jelly, a white liquid. Do not shake the bees off this frame.
The video suggests leaving two queen cells, I would only leave one. A second queen cell might encourage your bees to swarm when the first one emerges.
Make sure you have all the kit to hand, the video does tell you what you need. When inserting the new frame in the parent colony, put it at one end, not in the middle of the brood nest.
I don't move the boxes in the last swap round, but I do go in and check for further queen cells on my next weekly inspection. There are quite likely to be some emergency cells, break them down, making sure you leave your original cell be.
What do you do if you can’t find the queen?
I do the same method, but instead of moving the queen over, I move a queen cell over. Make sure it’s an open cell so you can see a fat larva in it. Make sure there’s only one queen cell on that frame. DO NOT SHAKE THIS FRAME, you could dislodge the larva and it won’t emerge and your colony could be left queenless. Follow the rest of the instructions for a Pagden.
Later in the summer, if you don’t want to keep all your ‘splits’, merge them back together removing the older queen and using newspaper. Instructions to follow later.
Programme 2020
April to September Apiary visits are on hold due to the COVID-19 situation.
Bath & West Show is cancelled completely this year.
15th October 19:30 AGM.
From 24th to 26th October National Honey Show.
Due to the current situation, you need to stop your bees from flying away, therefore you need a good swarm prevention system. How do you know if your bees are going to swarm? They will make queen cells, look in them and if there are larva with royal jelly, or a white jelly like substance in the bottom of the cell, they are preparing to swarm. This is when you need to do something. Tearing down the queen cells will NOT stop them swarming, they just get very clever at hiding them, use an older larva and leave within 5 days of your last inspection.
I use the Pagden method, as shown in this video https://youtu.be/BCReKLV6CB4 . When leaving a good queen cell in the parent colony, a good queen cell is an open cell that you can see a nice fat larva swimming in royal jelly, a white liquid. Do not shake the bees off this frame.
The video suggests leaving two queen cells, I would only leave one. A second queen cell might encourage your bees to swarm when the first one emerges.
Make sure you have all the kit to hand, the video does tell you what you need. When inserting the new frame in the parent colony, put it at one end, not in the middle of the brood nest.
I don't move the boxes in the last swap round, but I do go in and check for further queen cells on my next weekly inspection. There are quite likely to be some emergency cells, break them down, making sure you leave your original cell be.
What do you do if you can’t find the queen?
I do the same method, but instead of moving the queen over, I move a queen cell over. Make sure it’s an open cell so you can see a fat larva in it. Make sure there’s only one queen cell on that frame. DO NOT SHAKE THIS FRAME, you could dislodge the larva and it won’t emerge and your colony could be left queenless. Follow the rest of the instructions for a Pagden.
Later in the summer, if you don’t want to keep all your ‘splits’, merge them back together removing the older queen and using newspaper. Instructions to follow later.
Programme 2020
April to September Apiary visits are on hold due to the COVID-19 situation.
Bath & West Show is cancelled completely this year.
15th October 19:30 AGM.
From 24th to 26th October National Honey Show.
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