Got a Call Again!

We received a call yesterday night! The swarmed colony had swarmed yet again. I could not believe my ears! We jumped in our gears and went to the Chanhassen apiary, and were "welcomed" by the whole family who had gathered for the 4th. of July. The cutest of all was the little girl with the green "froggy" boots :) who showed us exactly were the honey bees were. Thank you!

Yes, the colony that Ben had retrieved 4 days ago, had done it again. We had to hurry a little as the sun was setting, it was already 8:05 pm.

This time the swarm had found a comfortable spot on the lower branch of a small tree. We approached carefully. The sound was soft and actually soothing... after all they were with their queen.

Again we proceeded like last time. However, since the swarm was at chest level and relatively smaller, no ladder or saw were needed. We simply placed a box with 4 out 10 frames removed. Then with one big "shake" most of the honey bees ended up in the box. In the meantime we inspected the swarmed colony... very noisy, no eggs, and no larvae but 8-10 queen cells had been built; we removed them promptly.

The Dilemma: Why did a brand new queen flew away with some workers? If there were other queens in the hive, why did she not fight and killed them? She was the first born, she WAS the queen. And to add to the mystery, there is ample room for everyone. So no "need" to move out! Ventilation is also adequate. However, obviously "something" is triggering their instinct to swarm.

Since, we had to wait for the majority of swarmed honey bees to get into the box under the tree. We inspected the second hive, the one with the original queen. I SAW eggs! She is laying again and should be back on track.

At this point, we were dripping sweat over the poor bees... it was 87 degree F and extremely humid. But both inspections were done, the sun was very low, the light was dimmer, and we still had to take the box full of honey bees and their queen, walk over the apiary 25 feet away, and put the bees back were they came from. And we did as the last few rays of light could be seen on the horizon. We had done it again.

I guess we are starting to be "experts" at retrieving swarms! However, this is not a game. We need to understand why our honey bees feel the urge to swarm. They have enough room in their hive, and they have a brand new young queen. What's the matter with them? I hope this is not a habit!

However, swarming many times in a row seems to be "normal" , and this phenomenon is not well understood. From the literature that we have been reading it could happen yet again. Actually, it is a sign of a healthy colony. They swarm to "create" a new family, increasing their chance of survival. But for us beekeepers it means jeopardising the survival of our "managed" colonies, and of course having less honey. In Minnesota, it is difficult for a smaller bee population to go into the winter months, and trying to survive and be healthy and strong next spring. This is our worry, right now: Not having a strong populous colony in the fall.

We asked for advice and at the moment we are waiting. We will visit the apiary again today, to make sure the second swarm stayed put, and are not back in the tree.