Advice for a new beekeeper

[Joe]

Hi there,

I am a relatively new young beekeeper (Had a hive last year but didn't make it through the winter) and I have just got a swarm of bees from a local beekeeper. I know swarms aren't the best for new beekeepers and package bees and nucs work better but I going to give it a shot. Anyway I was wondering if any of you experienced beekeepers had any advice or tips and tricks for me that might help the bees do better this year.

The swarm I currently have is small and weak (Had them 5 days and so I haven't done my first inspection yet) and I am trying to micromanage them to give them the best chance of survival this year. They are currently on 1:1 sugar syrup, are in a singular brood box with wax foundation frames and a mesh bottom (Hive is a national). There is currently no entrance reducer in it.

Is there anything advice you could give to help me, help them to grow and become a stronger hive?

Thanks

[MickBBKA]

Sounds to me like you are doing great. Keep the feed going as long as they want it. Nothing wrong with 99.9% of swarms I have collected. Good luck !

[Chrisbarlow]

I agree with Mick, feed feed feed. Swarms I my opinion are perfect for beginners and generally they are fine. I would suggest trying to requeen in summer though so you have a young queen for winter. If they are aggressive buy one in, if they are nice to handle then split some off these bees into a nuc and let them raise one themselves.

Where are you? If you're somewhere cold then feed fondant, if your somewhere warm, syrup is fine, I would feed thick syrup though not thin.

Any concerns about notifiable disease then ask the local seasonal bee inspector to take a look.

[Patrick]

Hi Joe and welcome to the Forum.

Don’t worry too much about losing your first bees. For a multitude of reasons, it is quite common (I did). I have no issue with starting with a swarm, I wonder if the sniffyness about using them is mainly from folk who want to sell you their nucs?

Only joshing, there are pros and cons to either, if they are unreasonably bad tempered you will find out, but chances are you will be fine.

I do wonder if being small and weak what you have actually been given is a “cast” or secondary swarm. If so, it will be smaller but the good news is it will instead be a this years queen and once mated should go like the clappers with feeding like suggested. If feeding, I would keep the entrance small (if you don’t have a block just use scrap timber) as they don’t need or can defend the huge entrance normally provided. If feeding heavily keep an eye open that they don’t draw out combs but fill them with syrup instead of leaving room for queen to lay. Make sure you site the nuc in the same location as you want your hive to go.

And enjoy! You are back in the bee business with nothing to lose..

[Joe]

Thank you very much for all your replies.

To address a couple of point you guys have made:

Chris, I am down in Hampshire so temperatures aren't too bad compared to other places so I think just syrup will do for now. Also these bees are very nice, maybe that's just at the moment since they don't have much to defend but are very calm with me around.

Patrick, it could have been a cast, is there anyway to tell how old the queen is?
I have been considering about putting the entrance reducer but haven't been 100% about it since we have had a couple of warm days and there has been a ton of traffic to and from the hive? I don't think there would be much of a downside to putting it in apart from reduced air circulation. Is robbing a big problem at this point of the year? Is it better to put it in and see what happens?

Thank you for all your support and advice

Joe

[Chrisbarlow]

I would have a reduced entrance. I tend to never have full size entrances. I don't think a reduced air circulation will be an issue. It's means less draft, easier to defend and it's should not congest the bees to any degree.

As for queen age, if she's unmarked and laying straight away then no. But if she isn't laying straight away that suggests she's a virgin and a 2019 queen.

[Caroline]

I would have a reduced entrance. I tend to never have full size entrances. I don't think a reduced air circulation will be an issue. It's means less draft, easier to defend and it's should not congest the bees to any degree.

I would also have a reduced entrance. I run all my hives, incl double brood, on reduced entrances all the time.