MillerThousand AnswersBeekeepingQuestions.pdf - BioBees

+ DR. MILLER Sthe matter of hindering swarming. But I must confess tnahave not been able to prevent all swarming to my entire satis ^tion. It may be some help to say that if you succeed in gettinga young queen reared in a colony and get her to laying,colony is practically certain not to swarm the same season.Q. In preventing afterswarms, by placing the young swarm onthe old stand and taking the old colony to a new place, shouldall the queen-cells except the ripest one.be cut out at once.'A, That's one way. There's a better way. Set the swarm onthe old stand, the old hive close beside it, without cutting out anyqueen-cells, and let stand for a week. Then move the old hiveto a new stand, and the bees will do the rest. You see, when theold hive is moved at that time all the field-bees will leave it andjoin the swarm. That will weaken the old colony, and added tothat is the fact that no honey will be coming in, so the bees willconclude they cannot afford to swarm, and all the extra queencellswill be killed without your opening the hive.Q, Can an afterswarm be returned to the parent hive? If so,how shall I proceed?A. The easiest thing in the world. Just dump the swarmdown in front of the hive and let them run in. It was the oldfashionedway of treating afterswarms, and there's no better way,if you don't mind the trouble. Just return the bees every timethey swarm out, and when all the queens have emerged therewill be only one left, and there will be no more swarming. Indeed,you may carry the plan still farther, returning the prime swarmand all the afterswarms. That will give you no increase, but thelargest yield of honey, especially if your harvest is early.Hiving the swarm in an empty box and returning it to theparent colony the next day is still better, as the swarming excitementis over.Q. Do afterswarms come out only when the old hive remainson the old stand?Do they always failnew location?to come out when the old hive is put in aA. Afterswarms are likely to issue if the old hive is left onthe old stand, and are less likely to if the old hive at the time ofswarming is removed to a new place; but may issue then. If theswarm is put on the old stand, the old hive close beside it, andthen a week later the old hive removed to a new place, you maycount quite safely on no afterswarms.