A Swarm in July......

July 30, 2011

By J. Orem

There is an old beekeeper’s saying, “A swarm in May is worth a load of hay; a swarm in June is worth a silver spoon; a swarm in July isn’t worth a fly.” From the mid 17th century it’s meaning rings as true today as it did then; the later in the year it is, the less time there will be for bees to collect pollen and as such are less likely to survive the coming winter. Contrarily, spring swarms are much more likely to prosper throughout the summer and have enough honey stores to survive winter. Some spring swarms have even been known to provide a fall crop of honey prior to winter. No doubt there is something special about a spring swarm; it’s knack for survival and its ability to outperform both nucs and packaged bees their first summer seems almost mystic in nature.

July and following, swarms are all together another entity. Not only are the swarms less likely to increase in size and thrive, they are less likely to have enough honey stores in time for winter. Additionally, these swarms just seem to be a little “off”. What do I mean by “off”? Well, for starters, they are usually just plain crabby; they try to go in places we think they ought not be and even turn down perfectly good hives in favor of running off to parts unknown. It is for this reason that many beekeepers simply don’t bother with swarms after June. In the event that such a beekeeper is called upon to catch a swarm after June, they almost always pass it by telling the caller to leave the swarm alone and let it fly off.

I don’t know why bees swarm in the summer. Although there could conceivably be a number of different reasons, I speculate that it may have something to do with overcrowding in the parent colony – a form of crowd control. Whatever the cause, it happens. And when it happens, the bees that swarm are in danger of not being able to survive the winter. This then brings us to swarm traps and swarm calls.

Why do I still have swarm traps out? To mitigate the loss of bees and keep those swarms that may occur from ending up in undesirable locations. These swarm traps are set out at places where cut-outs have been performed or previous swarms have been retrieved. Likewise, I still retrieve swarms from swarm calls for the same reason. What do I do with these swarms once caught? Typically I leave them be until fall and then combine them with a strong hive and give them a fighting chance at surviving old man winter.

So please keep those swarm traps out there ‘till first frost and help keep the bees out of trouble. I don’t like hearing those “bees moved into my house, car, grill so I had to kill them” stories. Yes, the wax moths are eating up the bait comb. Yes, the roaches, spiders, ants and mice will be in there as well; this can all be cleaned out later. You are helping the bees that are helping us all.

Tags: how-to , in the hive

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How much woodenware do I need?

July 06, 2011

By Jim Orem & Rick Orr

I get the question every now and then, “How much woodenware do I really need?” I’m the wrong person to have such a question asked of me. Every February I have a pile of equipment (e.g. bottom boards, outer covers, inner covers, boxes, etc.) ready for spring that I have been working on since the previous summer. What more could I possibly need; I’ve got plenty of everything and I’m ready for the year. The next thing you know, I’m scrambling for hive parts; using equipment that I threw in the brush pile the previous fall or patching something with tin that should have been thrown out long ago. As such, I’ve asked Rick Orr to help me tackle this topic.

To answer the question, the best we can do is come up with a guide, based on experience, to help plan ahead for the next year.

A “Newbee” or first year beekeeper will want to have a minimum of 2 hives. Why 2 hives you ask? Well, that’s a topic for another discussion; for now, just go with it – 2 hive minimum. That’s 2 bottom boards, 2 inner covers, 2 outer covers and 4 deep boxes. Assuming no bee yard growth, this will suffice for the first year. You’ll want to enter your second year of beekeeping with an additional inner cover, outer cover, bottom board, deep box and 1 swarm trap. Keep this complete hive in storage but ready to put a swarm in if the need arises; and it WILL arise. Work with your mentor as to the best place to set up your swarm trap. In addition you’ll need four medium supers for every hive you have alive in February of your second year. If you want the ability to mitigate the loss of a queen, you may consider starting a nucleus hive, also known as a “nuc”, in the spring of your second year as well. Through combining and the help of your mentor, you should be able to maintain a 2 hive bee yard indefinitely if that is your goal.

If your goal is to grow your bee yard to something more than 2 hives, hopefully you’ll find the following useful. Bear in mind that the equipment listed below is in addition to what is already in your bee yard and on stand-by or in storage in support of your existing hives.

For each living hive in your bee yard as of February, you’ll need the following:

• 2 Deep Boxes
• 1 Bottom Board
• 1 Inner Cover
• 1 Outer Cover
• 2 Medium Supers
• 1 Nuc Box for Every Five Hives
• 1 Swarm Trap for Each Hive (Minimum)

In the event that you’ll be growing your bee yard in a more aggressive manner, such as using the MDA Splitter Method, you’ll want the following equipment for each living hive in your bee yard that you plan to split as of February:

• 5 Nuc Boxes
• 5 Bottom Boards
• 5 Inner Covers
• 5 Outer Covers
• 10 Deep Boxes

For each Hive that is not split, you’ll need 2 Medium Supers and a Swarm Trap.

For those individuals out there that have ventured into the realm of using 8 frame mediums for both brood boxes and honey supers, the following is an equipment list broken out by year.

NOTE: The equipment listed after the first year is in addition to the previous year and should be ready by February of the year it is intended to be used.

Year 1 (2 Hive Minimum):

• 2 Bottom Boards
• 2 Inner Covers
• 2 Outer Covers
• 10 Medium Boxes (5 Boxes per Hive)

Year 2 (Maintaining 2 Hives)

• 1 Bottom Board (Storage)
• 1 Inner Cover (Storage)
• 1 Outer Cover (Storage)
• 2 Medium Boxes (Storage)
• 8 Medium Boxes (4 Boxes per Existing Hive)
• 1 Nuc Box
• 1 Swarm Trap

If your goal is to grow your bee yard to something more than two hives, reference the following equipment list. Bear in mind that the equipment listed below is in addition to what is already in your bee yard and on stand-by or in storage in support of your existing hives.

For each living hive in your bee yard as of February, you’ll need the following:

• 1 Bottom Board
• 1 Inner Cover
• 1 Outer Cover
• 8 Medium Boxes
• 1 Nuc Box for Every 5 Hives
• 1 Swarm Trap for Each Hive (Minimum)

In the event that you’ll be growing your bee yard in a more aggressive manner, such as using the MDA Splitter Method, you’ll want the following equipment for each living hive in your bee yard that you plan to split as of February:

• 5 Bottom Boards
• 5 Inner Covers
• 5 Outer Covers
• 5 Nuc Boxes
• 20 Medium Boxes

For each Hive that is not split, you’ll need 4 Medium Boxes and a Swarm Trap.

Tags: hive products , how-to

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