How To Handle Swarm Season
Three swarms last year You could write a book on the subject of ‘how to handle swarm season’, and several people have. In the one thousand or so words allotted to this blog post, I shall therefore have to miss…
Category: Swarming
The ever popular Demaree method revisited
George Demaree One of my most-read articles concerns a form of swarm prevention that first saw light 131 years ago in the American Bee Journal. I’m not convinced that mine is even a good article, but anything to do with…
Swarm Prevention And Honey
The Mole and The Walrus After three days in a row of beekeeping, I found myself having a 'power nap'. It's hard work after a winter of inactivity. My son, the mole, has been my superstar assistant, which is remarkable…
Let’s Talk About Swarms
They can't possibly be my bees! I've written about swarming quite a bit in the past. I'm not sure how many people who read my stuff are beginners, but I'm going to assume it's not the majority. You probably all…
Demaree
Demaree Method Many very experienced beekeepers in the UK advocate using the Demaree Method of swarm prevention for people with a small number of hives. George Demaree (1832–1915) from Kentucky first published his approach in an article in the American…
Swarm Predictor
2013 Swarm As I was thinking ahead to next spring and summer, and reflecting on seasons past, I decided to check my records to look at swarming. In the season just gone swarming kicked off much earlier than I'd seen…
Science Vs. Experience
The Kyles of Bute I love science. I've even got a chemistry degree, but don't ask me about it because that was over thirty years ago. As soon as I left university, I went to the City to do accountancy.…
How to stop Swarming
Walrus and honeybees How to stop swarming? Answer: you can't! At least not completely. However, beekeepers have to try to stop their bees swarming. If you lose swarms, you will not make as much honey as you could do. You…
Swarm Control by the Experts
Bee Books At some point, some colonies will make swarm preparations, and if the beekeeper wishes to keep his or her bees, and hopefully the lovely honey they will make, he or she needs to do something about it pretty…
The Cliché Photo that keeps on giving
Swarm of Bees on a Car The easiest way to understand how honeybees work is to think of the colony as the body of an individual, and therefore the bees themselves are more like cells which make up that body.…
The Eternal Question
2013 Swarm How to prevent swarming? I previously wrote about some potential factors involved in the swarming of honey bees and why swarm prevention and control are so important for the beekeeper. The idea that we can prevent swarms is…
Why do bees swarm and what do worms do?
A swarm of honey bees Before I get all technical on the beekeeping front I must share with you that I have just started a dog poo (or poop as our North American friends would say) wormery in my back…