1. SWARMING & ITS PREVENTION
HCBA Beginners Beekeeping Course
MARCH 19, 2019

2. SWARMS: WHAT’S THE PROBLEM?
Why Should I Care?
Loss of work force
Hive may not recover
May irritate the neighbors

3. WHAT IS A SWARM
Swarming is how honey bees increase the number of colonies in the environment
One Colony – Two Colonies
Healthy colonies will swarm every year if not managed

4. REASONS FOR SWARMING CROWDING (Congestion in the Brood Nest)
Lack of space for Queen to lay eggs
Honey Bound or Pollen Bound
Population Balance (Brood to Adult Bees)
Not enough Queen Pheromone or Substance
Poor Quality Comb (Old or Damaged)
Weather; Rainy, Cool
Genetics

5. BIG SWARM

6. LITTLE SWARM

7. BAD SWARM

8. WHAT TO LOOK FOR Fast population buildup Drone Cells
Construction of Queen Cups
Queen Cups Charged
Queen/Swarm Cells Capped
Queen is “Skinny”
Fewer Eggs Being Laid
Queen Preparing to Fly

9. DRONE CELLS

10. QUEEN CUPS

11. QUEEN CUPS CHARGED

12. SWARM CELLS CAPPED

13. GOOD WEATHER First Nice Warm, Calm Day After Buildup
After Cool or Wet Weather

14. SWARM PREVENTION Space for Queen to lay.
Good Empty Comb (Minimum stores)
Additional Brood Chamber
Reversing
Space for Nectar (Early Nectar Flow)
Add a Honey Super (Not Foundation)
Maximum Sunlight
Ventilation
Young Queen (Good Genetics)
Should have been done in the fall

15. MAYBE THAT WORKED
Now what?

16. SWARM CONTROL Destroy Queen Cells
Every Days
Rearrange Brood Nest to Encourage Queen to Lay
Add More Comb, Reverse, etc.
Queen Removal (Continue to Destroy Queen Cells)
Remove or Cage Queen
Return or Release Queen after Days
Break in Brood Cycle
Brood Removal (Continue to Destroy Queen Cells)
Remove Frames of Capped Brood to Reduce Population
Replace with Comb (Ideally)
Make a Nuc (leave a few queen cells) or Add to Weak Colonies
Splits or Divisions
Make one Colony into two

17. SWARM CONTROL, Cont.
Brood Separation (Continue to Destroy Queen Cells)
Queen and some brood in bottom box
Add Empty Super & Double Screen (Snelgrove Double Screen, L.E. Snelgrove, England)
Rest of Brood above Double Screen
Rearrange frames top to bottom after 7-10 days
Open and Close Openings as needed
Continue Until Queen Cell Building Stops
Queen/Brood Separation (Continue to Destroy Queen Cells)
Demaree Method (George Demaree, 1892)
Add Queen Excluder, Two Supers, Rest of Brood in Top Box
Rearrange Frames Top to Bottom every 7-10 Days
Shook Swarming (Destroy Queen Cells)
Cage Queen
Shake all of the bees on the ground in front of the hive
First Box Frames of Foundation & Queen
Add Queen Excluder
Add two Honey Supers
Add Top Box with Remaining Frames of Brood

18. QUESTIONS?

19. THANK YOU Jim Fraser EAS Master Beekeeper