Tag: Swarm Removal

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Honey Bees feeding on sugar syrup from a top feeder

Feed Me, Feed Me Now!

The third installment of the #BidefordHoneyBeeSwarm.

On day three of collecting the swarm from Bideford, the bees have bee put into a new hive, and are now being fed with sugar syrup. At this point I would typically medicate the bees against the Varoa mite, but haven’t had the chance to do this yet.

In the picture, you can see the bees coming up from the hive below into a feeder.

The feeder is essentially a dish with a lid, that I fill with sugar syrup. The feeder sits on top of the hive in a box that I cover with the roof, so its normally in the dark inside the hive.

The sugar syrup is 1 part sugar to 1 part water and is typically fed to the bees during spring and summer to encourage the queen to lay.

In this instance I have given it to the bees to encourage them to build out comb in the hive, but also at this time of year (May/June) there may not be too much forage (flowers) around for the bees as we are on the cusp of the summer flowers coming out.

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Collected Honey Bee Swarm located in Isolation Apiary

Collected Swarm Settled In to the Quarantine Apiary

The second part of #BidefordHoneyBeeSwarm. A couple of days ago, I collected a swarm of honey bees from Bideford.

The small colony of bees collected from the plum tree have been put into a small hive (Nuc) and placed in the quarantine apiary. Here they will be treated for disease and on day 3 fed a light sugar syrup to help them build in size.

Currently I have placed the Nuc next to the hive where they will be housed.

The bees have started leaving the Nuc and familiarising themselves with the surrounding area. You can see this by their behavior. When the Nuc was first positioned and the bees let out, they would emerge from the Nuc and fly in ever increasing circles up into the sky.

This is to allow them to spot landmarks and orientate in relation to their new home.

The next step will be to feed and medicate the new colony.

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Collecting a honey bee swarm from a plum tree in Bideford, North Devon

Two Swarms Collected from Bideford this week.

Today I collected my second swarm this week from the Bideford, North Devon.

A large swarm collected yesterday in a plum tree and was still present today, so I nipped along at 12:00 and picked it up.

It’s now located in my quarantine apiary, ready to be put in a hive tomorrow.

When collecting swarms, people, often ask me: “what happens next”?

I’ve decided to write about this swarm, so that anyone who is interested can track it’s progress. Check back to my website for updates: www.ChilcottsFarm.co.uk/news/ or follow the tag #BidefordHoneyBeeSwarm on Instagram.

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