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Thread: Artificial swarm (Ian Craig)

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Default Artificial swarm (Ian Craig)

    In Nellie's Soft Set Honey thread EmsE referred to Ian Craig's article which I started to read, but got stuck with his description of his artificial swarm method. Can somebody please help me to understand it?

    I followed everything until the bottom of page 11 (the paragraph starting 'After twenty four hours ...'). I understand the bit where he said the open crown board is replaced with a swarm board, with the entrance open to the front. He then says, "Five days later the top front upper entrance is closed, the top front lower entrance opened and the top back upper entrance opened."

    I'm a bit confused by all these top entrances. I understand the 'top front upper' and 'top back upper' (they belong to the swarm board - I think) but where is the 'top front lower entrance'? Or should the word 'top' not be there?

    Can I interpret this whole procedure as: once you've replaced the open crown board with a swarm board, you open the swarm board's front entrance. (Do we then close the queen's brood-box entrance below so that all the bees use the swarm board entrance? He does not say that, and I don't quite understand.) Then, five days later, we close the swarm board's front entrance; open the swarm board's back entrance; and open the 'top front lower entrance'. Does he mean opening the queen's brood-box entrance so that all the new bees emerging at the top has a new entrance to which they'll return, while all the old flying bees will continue to use the front entrance (the queen's brood-box entrance)?

    Sorry about the long-winded query. I'm confused about the opening and closing of the brood-box entrance and the word 'top' everywhere - but am I on the right track?

    Kitta

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    There are in effect two entrance hatches on each side. One opens above the board, the other below it.

    After a week or so you close the entrance above the board and open the entrance below. All the flying bees from the top section now come back and instead of entering above the board, they now go in below instead regardless of which entrance above the board is currently open as they're flying to where they remember the entrance to be rather than where it currently is.

    So you're continually bleeding off the flying bees from the box above the board into the one below it. After another week you can repeat the process.

    The bees in the lower box continue to use the standard entrance.

    What he's referring to is basically a Snelgrove board (or variation thereof).

    Hope that makes sense.
    Last edited by Neils; 07-02-2012 at 08:20 PM. Reason: clarification

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    There are 3 entrances in Ian's boards. There are 2 at the front and 1 at the back. The idea is to bleed off flying bees to the bottom brood box with the original queen. When you close the upper front entrance you open the lower front entrance. A week later you open the upper back entrance to allow the new queen to mate and close the lower front entrance. You end up with two hives on top of each other with an entrance on each brood box facing opposite sides

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    Senior Member EmsE's Avatar
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    This was the method we were taught in our local beginners class, with the equipment used to demonstrate the process, making it much clearer. It's less work than moving one hive from one side to the other of the original colony and you don't need as much space or equipment either.

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    Member susbees's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Mellifera Crofter View Post
    In Nellie's Soft Set Honey thread EmsE referred to Ian Craig's article which I started to read, but got stuck with his description of his artificial swarm method.
    I got stuck at his solid floor, no insulation and matchsticks part way through "January"

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    Senior Member EmsE's Avatar
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    Hi susbees, the insulation is still in place in January (it is put in place in November). The matchsticks are used for ventilation purposes because of the solid floors but are removed in mid feb to help conserve the heat to help with brood rearing.

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    Senior Member Mellifera Crofter's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Nellie View Post
    There are in effect two entrance hatches on each side. One opens above the board, the other below it.

    ... What he's referring to is basically a Snelgrove board (or variation thereof).
    Quote Originally Posted by Jimbo View Post
    There are 3 entrances in Ian's boards. There are 2 at the front and 1 at the back. ... You end up with two hives on top of each other with an entrance on each brood box facing opposite sides
    Quote Originally Posted by EmsE View Post
    ...It's less work than moving one hive from one side to the other of the original colony and you don't need as much space or equipment either.
    Thanks Nellie, Jimbo and EmsE - I've seen the light. I think I'll give it a try this summer. I tried a Horsley board last summer, but a deer pushed the hive over (I think that's what happened) and caused mayhem. I'll now have a good think as to when to use what method. Snelgrove, Horsley, or whatever else.

    Kitta

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    Administrator gavin's Avatar
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    Demaree!

    Graeme Sharpe described his use of the Demaree on Monday in Dundee (amongst many other things) and handed out a leaflet on it. Simple, effective, can easily be modified to take off a nuc or two, can introduce a frame of eggs to raise queens from a different stock. It is still a method which builds a tower and needs at least some lifting off to inspect the bottom box.

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    I'm going to try our variation of snelgroves method this year. It's basically the same just with less fannying around opening and closing hatches.

    As Ive only got one snelgrove board though I'll probably be testing other methods too

    Gavin, any chance of a scan of that leaflet?

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    Hi Nellie,

    I have used various methods of swarm control. I tend to mix and match depending on what equipment I have available and what I want to achieve.
    I have cut and pasted the basic Demaree method that I use
    Step 1
    Remove the hive from its floorboard and put a new box with 8 drawn frames
    on its place.
    Step 2
    Go through the original brood box and locate the queen. Place her with two
    frames of sealed brood in the centre of the new box.
    Step 3
    Place a queen excluder on this box and put a super or several supers above
    the excluder.
    Step 4
    Put the original brood box with remaining unsealed brood on top. Fill up the
    gap with 2 frames of drawn comb, one on each side. The foraging bees will
    return to the bottom box where the queen is and the nurse bees will stay with
    the brood, as if they had swarmed.
    Fit inner cover and roof on the stack.
    Step 5
    After 7 to10 days, inspect the hive and destroy any queen cells that may have
    developed in the top brood box. After then none can be started above since
    larvae less than three days will not be available. As the brood hatches, the
    combs will be filled with honey.
    Step 6
    The procedure of separating most brood from the queen is repeated after
    9 to10 days with queen cells destroyed in the top box. Once demareeing is
    completed the swarming drive is extinguished.
    In this rearrangement, the hive is stacked up like this:
    Brood box with young brood
    Super
    Queen Excluder
    Brood box with queen, 2 frames sealed brood & rest empty combs
    The colony has all of its brood and the queen, but the queen is separated
    from most of her brood and has a new brood nest below the excluder. A large
    portion of the bees is in the top where most of the brood is moved, and a
    small portion of the bees with a small portion of brood and queen in the
    bottom brood box.
    By doing this, the queen will have plenty of space to lay eggs and expand her
    brood nest; the nurse bees will be upstairs away from the brood nest in the
    lower box, which relieves congestion. The foraging bees will get a great deal
    of room to store honey in the middle hive bodies.
    In the top box due to the absence of the queen the bees will attempt to raise a
    new queen from the open brood. These can all be destroyed or used in
    replacing old queens and making increase (splits). Alternatively a new queen
    may be allowed to hatch out after selecting the best cell and inserting a
    screen floor under the top box as upper entrance to allow the queen to leave
    the hive and mate. The hive is managed as two queen colonies. What you do
    after this depends on your needs. This new queen, once laying in good brood
    pattern can be used to re-queen the old queen or the hive is split to start a
    new colony, whilst still producing some honey, or after harvest.
    Tips and Hints
    1. Demareeing or separation of the queen from the brood is intended to be
    used before a hive has already swarmed, and when the colony is becoming a
    little crowded i.e. has eight or more combs of brood and before queen cells
    are constructed.
    2. Demaree method should be applied immediately on a strong colony,
    showing sings of swarming (presence of several queen cells) or if the hive’s
    population covering all combs in a two chambers brood nest and there is no
    more space for egg laying.
    3. It is important that all queen cells in the brood boxes be destroyed that
    were already constructed at the time the brood is divided. When destroying
    the queen cells shake the bees from the combs or they will cover some of the
    cells, which will thus be missed. Don’t miss any. If a queen cell is missed, the
    hive will still swarm.
    4. If you have more brood than the top box can hold, you can put a few
    frames of sealed brood in the middle of the second super.
    5. When the queen fills the brood box under the queen excluder transfer the
    frames of unsealed brood and eggs into a top story and return 7-10 days later
    to destroy any subsequent queen cells.
    6. Remove queen excluder and recombine hive bodies when the prime
    swarming season is over.
    7. Use the Demaree method once during a season.
    8. Keeping a race of bees with a low tendency to swarm, and selection of non
    swarmy strains are the first steps to swarm prevention.

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