Thanks Lawrence another interesting video, not sure if we did the right thing this week, we split a hive, there were play cups on frames but a couple were charged as there was royal jelly inside although they hadn't really started drawing them down. Hope things turn out ok
I've just noticed this..Sorry about that. I think there is some interference on my wireless mic. Strange as I didn't pick it up on editing but can hear it now 😞
im so annoyed today. I looked out my window, watched them swarm and landed in a nearby tree. Collected the swarm in a nuk, left the nuk there for the remaining bees to go in and 30 mins later they all decided to leave the nuk and disappear completely. im so annoyed with myself, second year beekeeper and im sure this is just a simple mistake ive made. comments / advice / criticism welcome
I DISAGREE...on top yes,no worries..on bottom means we need room Now or we are going to start swarm preps.An empty cup is a cup,a cup with an egg is a cell.To tell a new Beekeeper that cups on the bottom of the comb is nothing to be concerned about will make them think they don't need to do anything...ok,their not swarming,agreed.But if they believe they don't have to do anything that the bees aren't telling them anything,their only playing then they Won't do anything and then what? The Queen has no where to lay and in full swarm mode within a week... maybe you didn't think to warn them on video...I agree a Supercedure cup is a just in case they need it cup,but several cups on the bottom of the frame is the bees warning sign to the Beekeeper"we need room NOW" IF they put an egg in a cup it's no longer a practice cup.ive never seen bees remove an egg on the bottom of a frame when they have several"play cups " along with one with an egg in it...more like look out swarm mode
I say an egg in a cup is 'one to monitor' - not to ignore. So return in 1 week to check to see if its advanced. We all manage our bees differently and I respect your opinion, but if I did an artificial swarm every time I saw an egg in a play cup, I would have a LOT of colonies. I personally dont buy in to the theory of cell placement for swarm/supersedure. I have had bees supercede on the base of frames and swarm cells all over the face. its all down to numbers in my opinion. Hey, I do love to discuss different methods of managing bees though so I do appreciate your comments :)
@@BlackMountainHoney yeah I agree with the Supercedure ...but you're teaching beginners.New Beekeepers watch every channel,they read every comment,if their bees are drawing cups because the broodnest is getting clogged and you tell them it doesn't mean anything, and then they take it a step farther and place an egg...their getting into full swarm mode and you're telling them it's nothing.Look,I don't like to say much but if we are going to teach then we are to be held to a higher standard and be held accountable.You basically just told a bunch of unlearned Beekeepers with hives preparing to Swarm that it doesn't mean nothing at all ....I guess everyone is entitled to their own opinion but I highly disagree with this teaching.. especially for beginners,seems like setting them up to have their bees definitely swarm....
@@badassbees3680 I stand by my comments. Empty playcups = Do Nothing. Playcups with eggs = keep a close eye and monitor. Charged queen cells = Take immediate action.
That's a really useful video for many of us, me included. By the way a couple of my splits don't seem too happy (no sign of new queens) so have put frames with egg frame another colony in, have you had problems with splits this year? Ta so much
Hi Lawrence, would you pinch these play cups or just leave them I’ve had enough of swarming this month of May to last me a lifetime, I found cells in every hive so split them all and left the original hives with a single cell but as you know May was a stinker and not one virgin queen was mated im now going to look through them all to see if I have more cells as I gave them all a donor frame of new eggs and larvae. Thanks mate for taking us along with you at your apiary.
