tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post8093428719148498010..comments2024-01-27T02:01:24.039-05:00Comments on Happy Hour at the Top Bar: Thinking Through Swarms, Splits, and FeedingJulie Dhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/09965401314478095790noreply@blogger.comBlogger2125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-91130307581389322302015-08-11T08:27:30.779-04:002015-08-11T08:27:30.779-04:00I totally agree, if they want to swarm, they'r...I totally agree, if they want to swarm, they're going to do it. My frustration, though, this year has been having loads of honey, but none of it capped and ready for harvest, and running out of room which led to swarming. :-(<br /><br />I've heard the Golden Mean Hive called the Golden Swarm Thrower many times. LOL! <br /><br />For TBHs, mine are on the larger side. Interior measurements are 18" across the top, 9" depth, and 8" (or so) across the bottom, 44-46" long. But they still ran out of room, and as you know, it's hard to add more space with a TBH.<br /><br />So I'm thinking that next year, rather than let them start swarming at a point in the year when the flow is nearly over, I'd rather force them to "swarm" by splitting earlier while they're still in the mood to build comb (I've noticed that this desire seems to taper off with in my bees after the summer solstice) and everyone has the best chance of success. We'll see. A friend of mine and I were discussing the adage "Anything worth doing is worth doing wrong." So here's to the next season and another year of doing it all wrong. :-)Julie Dhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09965401314478095790noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1347024209749983628.post-33139754587760705752015-08-09T17:43:07.583-04:002015-08-09T17:43:07.583-04:00One of the prominent beekeepers in our area starts...One of the prominent beekeepers in our area starts his splits in early April. I always thought that was too early, but he seems to have success at that. He doesn't wait for queen cells, but waits for drone combs/drones to appear as his sign it's time to split. He's been bitten by cold snaps, but when he's successful, he has a jump on the rest of us. I waited too long to split my hive this year - I was hoping for some queen cells but all they really need are some eggs and drones and (hopefully) a good flow to come.<br /><br />I think the key in TBHs is to constantly provide them with space - either make a split or harvest honey so they won't swarm. If the hive is not full, you can add bars to the brood area to give them some space. Too small a hive is a recipe for swarming. We recently had a discussion about the Golden Mean hives on one of our lists as being too small and prone to swarming. The proposed solution was to build bigger hives.<br /><br />I'll have to check out Tom Seeley's book - thanks for the tip. I really need to read more about swarms and splits.<br /><br />But, if a hive wants to swarm, it's going to swarm no matter what you do. ;-)Donhttp://www.buddhaandthebees.netnoreply@blogger.com