This where -if you can - you should continue to try to improve your own bees (I know that's a problem for your location, Nigel).
I have been disappointed when I have made an A/S and been told that they really bring in the honey as there is little brood to rear. The colony goes off the boil quite quickly as there is no young blood coming along (or should I say young haemolymph) to replace the worn-out foragers. And you can find that what honey is there is not ripened and capped for a long time too.
I improve my stock by sourcing and buying queens from what I think are the best breeders. Several years of trying to improve the mongrels in my area has shown me the futility of continuing down that line. But as you know Adam, I have quite a broad "stable" of bees and am always experimenting with different strains.
And one day I may find that my introduction of good genetics to the area pays off. It is certainly benefiting a couple of the local beekeepers who have moved their mongrel bees within my drones flying area....as they get such good matings in this area but they are currently a little puzzled as many of their offspring are no longer a dark black.
So a question to the more experienced - does this seem so far like quite a "swarmy" year if there is such a thing? With my small sample size it seems so, both colonies (2016 and 2017 queens) building QCs two weeks ago.
From my part of the world, colonies were slow to start so my expectation was that they would be smaller at early swarming time which is often mid May. I have had little in the way of swarm calls (less than most years). Colonies are now up to full strength so maybe a swarm in June - for that Silver Spoon - is possible.
Currently my girls have finished the OSR and are at a loose end before bramble comes alive. I don't usually see swarms during the June Gap.
One part of the swarming equation is the bee's genetics. In my area the local mongrels are annual swarmers...the advice to breed new queens from your least swarmy colonies does not apply.....
This was regardless of room or anything else I could think of....some would swarm 2 or 3 x a year. So worth checking what the genetic swarming propensity of the bees you have might be.
Thanks. The 2016 queen is one of C4U's, and the 2017 is a daughter of another of his.
Doubtful they will be naturally swarmy genetically from C4U.
Another part of the swarming equation is room. Bees need plenty of it, particularly early season when their numbers are increasing fast. I think it's reckoned that one frame of brood when emerged has enough bees to cover three frames, so easy to see how this can soon get them crowded.
If the queen runs out of laying room this can also cause issues.
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