When do you check if a hive that has swarmed is queen-right? What about the newly hived swarm?
Contributed by Dewey Caron
QUESTION: Our one hive (of two last fall) swarmed on Easter Sunday. It was pretty scary for the neighbors at first as the swarm gathered in a rhododendron next to their driveway just as their children and grandchildren were arriving for Easter dinner. The bees couldn’t have picked a nicer place to land (if they weren’t going to stay in our own yard). I was able to back the truck right underneath them, cut the branch and put them in my empty winter-killed hive box. Our neighbors ended up thanking us for the entertainment when we successfully retrieved the swarm.
My questions for you is when should I open the old hive and the new hive to check that there’s egg laying going on? I would think the old queen in the new hive should be laying already. Is that true or does she take some time off after the swarm? How long would it normally be for the new queen to hatch in the old hive, get mated and begin laying? Also, what’s the minimum outside temperature I should be able to open the hive without disturbing the brood process?
ANSWER: WOW what timing and how considerate of your bees to land in such a nice location. Sounds like it provided a nice ‘teachable moment’ and all ended positively.
Opening a hive: Ideally to open a hive you should feel comfortable without sweater or jacket…this means at least 70 degrees and sunny – but quick inspections can be done at lower temperatures (60 degrees) but you should only remove 2-3 frames
Newly hived swarm: The original queen gets back to egg laying pretty quickly – no vacation break. She starts by laying a few eggs but it will be a couple of weeks before the newly hived swarm has brood on 2-3 frames. How long she will keep it up is unknown – as her colony gets bigger they may be back in the same place and she will be unable to control her newly developing colony resulting in restarting of replacement queen rearing. Swarm capture colonies need be re-queened the same season (within first couple of months ideally).
(Editors Note: The Beekeepers Handbook recommends that you wait at least 7 – 10 days before checking on a new swarm. Harry Vanderpool recommends extending that to 2 weeks. Until the queen starts laying eggs, there is a danger that the swarm will abscond particularly if they are disturbed.
New swarms are primed to build wax comb quickly, but if the frames in the hive are all new, it will take longer for the queen to lay since she needs to wait for the comb. You can encourage swarms to stay in the hive by using a few frames of drawn comb in the center of the box so that she can begin laying quickly. If you have the resources, add a frame of brood from another hive and the swarm will stay to take care of it.)
Original hive: The queen will emerge anywhere from same day of swarming up to as much as a week later. The newly emerged virgin needs time to mature and adequate weather for mating. Early season matings are risky with poor flight weather and the risk of inadequate drone numbers for proper mating. If all goes well she can be laying eggs in 3 weeks. These first three weeks are critical for the original hive to re-queen properly, so minimal interference to the hive is suggested. Check the entrance to see if flight appears normal. When you begin to see more pollen coming in, take a quick look on a nice day – you should see a developing brood area within the first month of hiving.