Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
Forums
New posts
Search forums
What's new
New posts
New media
New listings
New media comments
New resources
New calendar events
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Calendar
New events
Resources
Latest reviews
Search resources
Classifieds
New listings
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search titles only
By:
Search titles only
By:
New posts
Search forums
Reply to thread
Menu
Install the app
Install
Forums
New Zealand Beekeeping Forums
New Zealand Beekeeping
Why do swarm prevention?
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Welcome to NZ Beekeepers+
Would you like to join the rest of our members? Feel free to sign up today.
Sign up
Message
<blockquote data-quote="John B" data-source="post: 7456" data-attributes="member: 207"><p>In the German video I saw they killed the fullest skeps at the end of the year by putting them over a pit containing burning sulphur. This was a first system of beekeeping used in New Zealand and swarming was encouraged.</p><p>Isolated AMM feral hives survive because they have never come into contact with varoa - they have been social distancing.</p><p>If you really want your hive to swarm then keep it stimulated with feeding unless there is a good natural honey flow occurring and keep it short of room. The earlier a hive swarms the longer it has to recover and produce a honey crop either for you or for its own winter stores. With early swarming you don't often get after swarms and provided the virgin Queen mates, hives can recover very quickly. Early swarming is nearly always caused by the hive becoming congested.</p><p>Some years are very bad for swarming and some areas with different floral sources notably broom and Barbary are much more likely to swarm than other areas. Late spring\early summer swarming can be caused by congestion but is more likely to because by a dearth in the honey flow and I have seen hives close to starvation, raising cells everywhere. Generally if a hive has enough room the swarming urge will go away when the main honey flow starts and I have seen hives pulldown swarm cells in these conditions.</p><p>Swarming during a dearth may be for reproduction but to me it seems more like the behaviour of African bees which will abscond during a dearth to a new area.</p><p>When hives swarm successfully the new Queen can be superb. Pre-varoa many orchardists had hives at the back of the orchard that weren't looked at from one year to the next and unless they got AFB they sometimes survived for decades without any care. Bees were quite capable of surviving on their own without mans intervention but now with varoa they cannot survive without care and certainly on the larger scale they can't have that care without producing an income for the beekeeper. To this end I do my best to stop them swarming which helps to maximise my income such as it is in these times but I have never had a year when at least some of my hives didn't successfully circumvent my best laid plans.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="John B, post: 7456, member: 207"] In the German video I saw they killed the fullest skeps at the end of the year by putting them over a pit containing burning sulphur. This was a first system of beekeeping used in New Zealand and swarming was encouraged. Isolated AMM feral hives survive because they have never come into contact with varoa - they have been social distancing. If you really want your hive to swarm then keep it stimulated with feeding unless there is a good natural honey flow occurring and keep it short of room. The earlier a hive swarms the longer it has to recover and produce a honey crop either for you or for its own winter stores. With early swarming you don't often get after swarms and provided the virgin Queen mates, hives can recover very quickly. Early swarming is nearly always caused by the hive becoming congested. Some years are very bad for swarming and some areas with different floral sources notably broom and Barbary are much more likely to swarm than other areas. Late spring\early summer swarming can be caused by congestion but is more likely to because by a dearth in the honey flow and I have seen hives close to starvation, raising cells everywhere. Generally if a hive has enough room the swarming urge will go away when the main honey flow starts and I have seen hives pulldown swarm cells in these conditions. Swarming during a dearth may be for reproduction but to me it seems more like the behaviour of African bees which will abscond during a dearth to a new area. When hives swarm successfully the new Queen can be superb. Pre-varoa many orchardists had hives at the back of the orchard that weren't looked at from one year to the next and unless they got AFB they sometimes survived for decades without any care. Bees were quite capable of surviving on their own without mans intervention but now with varoa they cannot survive without care and certainly on the larger scale they can't have that care without producing an income for the beekeeper. To this end I do my best to stop them swarming which helps to maximise my income such as it is in these times but I have never had a year when at least some of my hives didn't successfully circumvent my best laid plans. [/QUOTE]
Verification
What type of honey is New Zealand famous for?
Post reply
Forums
New Zealand Beekeeping Forums
New Zealand Beekeeping
Why do swarm prevention?
Top
This site uses cookies to help personalise content, tailor your experience and to keep you logged in if you register.
By continuing to use this site, you are consenting to our use of cookies.
Accept
Learn more…