I'm splitting this out from the Current Nectar Flow thread as I think this warrants discussion in its own right
Nellie
I'm struggling to understand why ASs seem to be failing this year. Score so far, three of mine and one I closely supervised belonging to a friend, all misbehaved.
Colonies ASed: 4
Colonies with old queen absconding in a swarm after AS: all 4
No. Q cells accidently left behind to induce the swarm: 0 (I'm sure of that, but all made Q cells from eggs/larvae left behind by the queen)
No. sealed or nearly sealed Q cells in colonies which swarmed/absconded at the time of swarming: 0. (Having had a thorough inspection today I'm sure of that.)
I'm starting to question my abilities as a beekeeper, but I'm pretty sure of the above. All four ASs failed to keep the queen at home even though the only Q cells in the box she swarmed from were early stage cells with small c-shaped larvae present today. Accidental killing of the queen might have explained one or two (doubt it though), and for the others either I saw the swarms (one stayed after recapture) or the queen went and the boxes are quieter than they should be.
G.
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