How to stop honeybees from swarming by creating rain and expanding the hive

How to stop a honeybee swarm and keep the bees in their hive.
How to tell if your bees are about to swarm.
My most successful honey bee queen was being prepared to depart by the workers, until... things changed.
In other swarming situations, I've managed to thwart the honey bee worker losses and may have found yet another method.
Once honey bees swarm and land on a nearby tree or some other structure, they are at the mercy of the weather.
BUT, as they prepare to swarm out of the hive, a change in the weather can indeed stop their departure plans, giving the beekeeper an opportunity to remedy the cause of the preparations in the first place.
I hope you'll enjoy watching this swarm controlling experiment and share your thoughts.
The Thermal Camera I use it the Flir C2 : goo.gl/FWPYd1
We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Thank you in advance for your support as always.

[@jamescampi50]

Yesterday one of my (3) hives was exhibiting same behavior. Just happened to catch it. I was not sure what was going on, but knew it was not good. Only in my second year of bee keeping (or more appropriately, being kept by bees) being unsure I thought some robbing was going on, though time of year off a bit. So I ran in the house grabbed a sheet, wetted it, and draped it over the hive, leaving it tented, not tight against the hive. I did not want to trap or kill the queen if it was swarming. I went back in the house grabbed my ipad, found your video, Eureka! Came back out, took the sheet off, shook the bees in it off gently, and sprayed the hive, added a super above the brood nest, and waited. So far it worked! Have to get back in and rearrange the nest and hopefully get things right. Learning all the time, so much to know. Hopefully in a couple of more seasons will have acquired enough knowledge to have this happen again. Thanks for the video.

[@FrederickDunn]

I'm so glad it worked out for you and that I've helped you understand bees a little better... we're all learning, no matter how many years we've observe the miraculous honey bees :) Thanks for taking the time to share!

[@singingfalls]

New tool for bee management. No chemicals. Minimal hive disturbance. Excellent quality tutorial and media editing. Winner!

[@myogdenrow]

I have really learned a lot about bee keeping from watching your excellent videos. Your thoughtful calm demeanor gives your presentations clarity and meaning. Thank you for your efforts. G. Miller.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much Milo, that is a wonderful comment and it's for people just like you that I make these videos public :)

[@BugFarmerBees]

I tried this with the sprinkler and it works! Best advice ever. Thanks Fred. I have been following you for a while and you were one of the reasons I started keeping bees. Thanks for all the information you provide.

[@FrederickDunn]

Oh, thank you, and I'm so glad you had a great result! :)

[@grams7868]

Hi Mr. Dunn, I’m new in your channel and I cannot stop watching your videos. Your videos are not only educational, but calming and inspiring. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you very much, and welcome! :)

[@dutchandrews7008]

Great catch on that Fred. I tried bee keeping about 20 years ago. Very interesting what you know !

[@dquelhas]

Hi Frederick, just to let you know I prevented a swarm earlier today using this method. It worked like a charm. Thank you once again for sharing. Now on to figuring out why they wanted to swarm in the first place.

[@FrederickDunn]

That's great Dinis, don't forget to expand their resources annnd you may have just stalled them and they still may swarm out, particularly this time of year. This video was of a late season hive.

[@liamaiden2313]

As a new bee keeper, I'm trying to prepare myself for every scenario, I often just think "what would i do, if this and that happened when I turn up to the hive one day" then i research it. This was one of those things I wanted to understand and to be honest I would have never thought of that, extremely helpful, thank you!. I think one thing to really note incase someone missed it is: This is late season swarming and they probably will still have the urge to swarm early in season, but its a great delaying tactic so you can sort the problem.

[@rebeccaparks1100]

I hung on your every word. Who knew how interesting and necessary these bees are! Thank you so much for a perfectly made video with outstanding narration. I’m hooked.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you, Rebecca, I'm so glad you liked it!

[@EddieHughes]

Awesome job! Thanks for posting this! As simple as it sounds this is the only time I’ve seen a video like this. I will definitely bank this idea for future late swarms. Thank you!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much Eddie, it does seem like a simplistic method until you realize that most apiaries are well beyond the reach of a garden hose :) I suggest that every apiary manager have one of those 5 gallon backpack water sprayers :)

[@littlebirdie8526]

@@FrederickDunn I'm on city water so I would then find pure water to fill my sprayer? What about creek water? I live near one.

[@FrederickDunn]

@@littlebirdie8526 City water is just fine for this purpose. Bees don't mind chlorinated water at all.

[@uptank8461]

Frederick (GREAT VIDEO) yet again, i know of some bee keepers who will clip the queens wings so if it does get to the point of swarming they fly out the queen drops on the ground the bees then realise they have no queen with them then return back to the hive! i have seen with my own eyes one of my hives last year came pouring out like a tsunami of bees all pushing and shoving to get in to the air amazing at the same time very annoying as well. that hive of yours is so tall now you will need a ladder to get to the top of that hive shortly lol.

[@goodcitizen3780]

What a solid video! You gained a new fan.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks David :)

[@laurabunyard8562]

You are giving me ideas on top of what I learned from my dad. Thank you.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Laura, that's great news and thank YOU for taking the time to comment and for watching my videos!

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

Very cool... nice to have a good narrator go along with a great video. I am learning so much! Thank you! Amazing how they froze with the "rain"!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks so much, glad you enjoyed it and learned something :)

[@TheFarmacySeedsNetwork]

I'd call it a quickly developing trend.. as well as a few friends of mine. :)

[@beeornottobee4507]

Nice video! Hope you have a great summer and your bees do well!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks, you too!

[@alteregos8949]

Another great chapter Mr. Dunn! Truly do enjoy your informative videos on Honey Bee keeping and conservation. You truly are a master of the beekeeping hobby and I learn something new every time I watch your videos. So many out there on KZbin trying to do the same but they can’t match your obvious education skill and experience in the field. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge, it truly is what makes youtube great and I look forward to the next chapter! Keep up the fantastic work!

[@FrederickDunn]

Wow, thank you Alter Egos...what a great comment and I really appreciate it. I'll continue to do my best :)

[@Bigred443]

This is very helpful my bees were doing the same thing so we popped the top of tour observation hive

[@paoemantega8793]

it helps to have 2 supers in reserve with drawn out comb to move in in the event of this happening. Thank you for this very interesting video.

[@julieenslow5915]

You do have some unique ways of looking at a problem and of solving it! Thank you for a great video!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks as always Julie :)

[@ivanmkennedy]

Love the videos. Great work!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you Ivan!

[@so_cal_mom]

So informative! Thank you.

[@yowgyrl]

Wow, this is amazing.

[@pankajmakwana2300]

Nice video thank you, it looks like they had to have a bigger place to live in and you gave them that and changed their mind by cooling them so it was a timely save. Very good.

[@bobwebber8521]

I always used a top entrance on a strong hive over a queen excluder figuring it was less work for the bees to travel up through those busy boxes. The rain shower is not something I ever thought of. Thanks.

[@colleenmurphy6529]

Excellent video. Thank you for sharing this. I love nature.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Colleen, thank you so much and I appreciate that you took the time to comment!

[@carolynfranke6690]

I enjoy your videos very much and always learn a lot from them. We're getting the same heat wave here in Toronto, Canada and as I am a first year beekeeper I can't judge but it seems like the nectar flow is huge and is showing no signs of stopping. I didn't anticipate all this nectar storage in the brood boxes below the queen excluder and thus she has become honey-bound I fear! So I added brand new hive body with 8 frames with foundation 2 days ago. In the summer I noticed the colony could draw out the foundation in about a week; we'll see what they manage to do this week. The population seems smaller. Maybe the queen was struggling to find enough room to lay for a few weeks now and I didn't notice. Such a lot to keep track of! Such an education looking after these creatures!

[@FrederickDunn]

You've hit on one of the reasons I don't use Queen Excluders... those workers that are not getting through the excluder are filling up the brood area with their resources. Adding another super won't alleviate the honey now stored in the brood area and the Queen running out of space to lay eggs can be a trigger for swarming.

[@carolynfranke6690]

Yes, I have now removed the queen excluder; will watch for swarm cells! I think the population has decreased too much though from not enough eggs being laid.

[@blue33fp]

Thanks for another great video!

[@FrederickDunn]

You are very welcome Martain, thanks for watching!

[@lindagray5857]

Thank you for this video. Did not know this would help.

[@FrederickDunn]

It's an emergency method only :) it's critical to expand the hive right after.

[@nagendraghimire7851]

Wonderful!

[@SpiritualButNotReligious]

Thanks for the tip :)

[@m2tyj]

Wow how have Ive not found you before 👍👍👍👍👍

[@kathyhathaway8823]

Hello Frederick I saw this video last year and I got a chance this year to try it also an WOW it did work. Thanks for the suggestion.

[@FrederickDunn]

Great to hear!

[@donsmith4534]

That's just what happen to me 2 days ago. They swarmed in the 1st week of August in west Texas. Now I know.

[@bluzervic]

Really nice video, might get me one of those thermos cameras myself.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you, I am completely enjoying having that camera/thermal capability, lots of fun for sure.

[@alinice82]

Very warm voice

[@joseortiz5965]

Awesome

[@PopleBackyardFarm]

good info

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you so much, I'm glad you liked it!

[@JAIPALCHAUHAN1]

Nice

[@framcesmoore]

this was great thanks

[@FrederickDunn]

So glad you liked it Frances :)

[@RaySarasin]

My guess would be add more boxes and I was right cheers

[@wilfredstewart3348]

That late in the season I would be surprised if it swarmed. Unless it has a lot of varroa mites which can cause late swarming. You need to check in the brood nest for hatching cells. Chances are it’s just getting a bit excited before a virgin is going out to mate. Actually there’s a bit of overlap between mating flights and swarming. What looks like a swarm coming out is just an escort for the nuptials.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts Wilfred

[@Joseph-Colin-EXP]

Wish i had a simgle hive withbthat mamy resources

[@danskisbees7348]

Fred, that was a great idea! Did they end up staying for a while? This hive doesn't look right without a hive visor, lol.

[@FrederickDunn]

IT worked and they didn't swarm. A fun experiment that actually saved me lots of bees for wintering.

[@danskisbees7348]

@@FrederickDunn Awesome!

[@dquelhas]

Hi there, thank you for the great video. This is really interesting. How long was the hose on for (or how long did it "rain" for)?

[@FrederickDunn]

Just a couple of minutes until the behavior at the entrance changed. It's pretty fast.

[@anglingnvirginia1346]

I have noticed also a lot of the bees have wanted to swarm right after a big storm also

[@FrederickDunn]

If the storm has held them off, that's also possible... in this case, the "fake" rain was followed by cold weather and that aided in containing them. Swarms like to depart during warming trends while nectar is available in the environment.

[@bbqridge]

Great video as usual Frederick. What would happen if you used chlorinated water ?

[@FrederickDunn]

Being that honey bees visit swimming pools to drink and other treated water sources, probably nothing, but I wanted to use water as close to rainwater as possible.

[@bikesbees9392]

Exelent video again, how the nature works?! It's known now that if the hive goes to 104F, all the varroa will die and nothing will happen to the bees. I'm referring to the thermosolar hive...

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Jaro, this year, we've had almost no detectable mites. These are varroa resistant bees and they do a great job of preventing mite infestation. The thermosolar hive is very interesting, I'm so glad that researchers are using non-chemical means to control those pests.

[@eelstofreedom2869]

Wow,so good to know,.. ? A false heat wave to con...trol varroa;}

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

Temperatures above 96 degrees Fahrenheit will kill all brood in short time, 104 degrees Fahrenheit will kill all brood instantly before killing any varroa mites, thermal treatments only suitable for broodlees clusters.

[@BrandonsBees]

If she is a good egg layer, I assume her daughters are also good nectar collectors. I am interested in seeing how this colony progresses before the winter. Would extracting some honey from their frames have provided more room for filling?

[@jollyollie8]

They were crowded with not enough space, much too small an entrance so unable to ventilate properly. Adding the boxes and upper entrance was what relieved the problem. The water just got them wet.

[@Nik00gfdsa]

They need more fresh air. They have a hive looking оwen. Make an entrance wide open, shift some boxes.

[@bobhmail7161]

Just share your opinion regarding what to do.

[@bigmac3006]

Do you have a video explaining the difference between the worker and drone bees and how to tell them apart?

[@FrederickDunn]

Inside the hive: or honey bees close up: At 6:29 you'll see the drone kzbin.info/www/bejne/rIOlmKmsnKmSfc0

[@stephirving9839]

what do you do though if its your first year of beekeeping, and all your frames are bare foundation?

[@FrederickDunn]

HI Steph, I need more information than what you've provided. So you have foundationless frames? Or are you using foundation that just isn't drawn out? Are you installing a package of bees, or are you starting with a captured swarm? Please tell me more and I can possibly help a tad :) With any new colony of bees your first benefit after hiving them would be a constant protected resource of 50/50 sugar syrup for example 4 lbs of sugar mixed with 4 lbs of water and put that in a hive top "interior" feeder such as a rapid round. They will be able to use that for energy as well as to draw out the comb. I wish you all the best!

[@Elwould23]

IDK why anyone would downvote this video. And the bees carrying pollen, were they taking resources to go? Or were they just impeded by the swarm?

[@FrederickDunn]

There is "someone" who always gives me a thumbs down, that's perfectly ok :) often I see pollen carriers in a swarm, they just happen to get re-routed before they can put their pollen in the cell.

[@jfuite]

@@FrederickDunn Never wonder about individual actions, only statistics. Individuals can approach a video from many different contexts, expectations, and mental states. I know I have downvoted videos before and been called out for it, but I had my reasons, and they were nothing like the reasons the person who called me out for it expected and projected onto me. This video is excellent, as reflected in voting statistics.

[@emdafem]

If the hive is hot and there are a lot of bees using the entrance- why do you have an entrance reducer in place? Do you use one year round or just when it gets late in the season? Thanks for the video!

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for this question, I'm going to discuss entrance reducers in my next FAQ Which will come out this week! By Late September almost all of my hives have entrance reducers on, during heavy nectar flows I remove them completely.

[@emdafem]

Thanks! I’ll be sure to check out the next video when it comes out.

[@FrederickDunn]

@@emdafem You're welcome and just let me know if there is anything else you may want me to include.

[@brucewest4862]

I don't have a water source near the apiary. If another brood box were added to this overloaded hive and all swarm cells destroyed, would that deter the swarm?

[@FrederickDunn]

Sometimes they just swarm anyway and you'd be left without replacement queens. I personally don't remove swarm cells.

[@charitablemiraclebeekeeper1200]

@@FrederickDunn Yup. They don't always swarm due to nonsufficient space/overpopulation, they also swarm when the queen is too old and for other reasons. If your colony just so happens to be both overpopulated AND the queen is old or starting to lay mostly drones & you destroy those Queen cells, that's a mistake that could cost the entire colony if not requeened in time.

[@macartancaughey9993]

Hi Frederick would not know what to do if bees swarmed not a bee keeper just love watching them.

[@TheBelrick]

The only way to stop a hive swarming once they have decided to involves a stick of dynamite.

[@FrederickDunn]

orrr the sudden onset of cold weather :)

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

@@FrederickDunn never, unless it's a late in a season.

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

@@TheBelrick all is needed is to remove old queen and couple frames and destroy most queen cells leaving couple bigger ones and let's them hatch and mate

[@TheBelrick]

@@sergeytaranovich2368 by that point the hive has already decided to swarm even without a queen as bizarre as it sounds.

[@richardd8352]

I've read that bees will do this on the outside of hive just to cool down and not swarm? - my question is - how do you know if they are simply bearding to cool down? Or if they are getting ready to swarm? What's the difference. Brilliant video btw 👍

[@FrederickDunn]

It's about the level of activity, cooling, or venting the hive and bearding will result in inactive bees on the outside. The number of bees in the air and body temp of those preparing to fly all let you know when they may depart. :)

[@richardd8352]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks, I think I just need to listen again to the video properly 😁

[@longwhitemane]

How simple and effective the garden hose is. :) Does that method work every time a hive threatens to swarm, or do you need the right circumstances? Cheers!

[@FrederickDunn]

I would only do this on very hot days, if they are swarming on a day when temps are in the low 60's I'd have to do something else.

[@longwhitemane]

How silly of me! Of course only in hot weather...no one wants "bee-sicles". Thanks. :)

[@billbaskin4631]

Sir, I’ve viewed the aforementioned video again and realized I may not have asked the correct question, which concerns insufficient space/swarming conditions. Question is “Do swarming conditions occur when the brood box is full and there is not another box for expansion, Or/And, do swarming conditions occur when both brood box and medium super is full and there is no area for expansion, Or/And, can swarming conditions occur when brood/medium/Flow Super are full? And, if the later creates swarming conditions, can harvesting honey create the additional space in the Flow Frames to minimize a swarming environment? Is there a point at which swarming is not expected to develop within the colony? I hope the lengthy question makes sense.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Bill, yes, bees tend to swarm when the hive is full of resources and they run out of room for storing their resources... you can fix that by expanding the hive by adding supers at the time. You can also prevent the hone-bound situation by draining off flow-frames that are full and ready as the bees will then begin to re-use those honey cells. When the hive has a population explosion and you see the bees collecting on the outside, it's time to add empty supers on top. I hope that helps? Have a great day!

[@billbaskin4631]

@@FrederickDunnAppreciate it. Tks

[@FrederickDunn]

@@billbaskin4631 You're welcome!

[@sojourner57]

@@FrederickDunn , excellent, but would you add empty supers on top of Flow supers, or IF this had been a Flow hive, would you have calmed the bees down and removed the Flow super before adding additional supers on top? And by drawn out comb, did you mean frames with comb from Better Bee? Thanks again...

[@FrederickDunn]

@@sojourner57 Because this was late September, I would have simply pulled the flow-super and replaced it with a medium box to house the extra foragers. I would not use the BetterComb in upper boxes. You "can" put empty supers on top of Flow-Super with foundationless frames and use that for cut-comb at the end of the year.

[@natalya402]

Wow, you really just ruined their day didn't you! Watching all the activity stop, and they all just sit there dejected was really funny. It's like a crowd at a sports game and the game gets canceled due to weather.

[@akemim.7854]

Hi Fred! I always have so many questions when I watch your videos. One of them is: how did they make the decision to swarm in this context, since it's not a very good thing to do because of the motives you mentioned? Is it a collective decision? Do we understand bees enough to know what could have triggered this behavior? Thanks in advance!

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, it's a democratic decision on the part of the bees, they make their decisions as a collective super-organism. Lots of resources, high colony density had a lot to do with their decision to swarm. Of course, they started their replacement queen cells a couple of weeks prior, so it's the conditions at that time which play a strong role at the time of this activity. They do a good deal of forecasting their future activities.

[@timothymitchell9956]

This is similar to what I was talking about. Raining on their parade causes Africanized bees to become less attacky . Decreasing the number of guards and increasing the number of needed foragers . This makes for more gentle bees. It changes their plans like you did. Did this artificial rain on their parade work every time?

[@FrederickDunn]

IT does indeed. BUT, you have to expand the hive, or they just do it again.

[@weirjwerijrweurhuewhr588]

@@FrederickDunn And then you have the joy of going through the hive to break all the swarm cells.

[@MegaJustsam]

what do you feed bees in the winter

[@FrederickDunn]

The honey they store up.

[@kareno8634]

BEEHIVIOR to Magic Showers. Great to Know & See it worked! _hmmm_ You think it was the Drones that gave 'Thumbs Down'? : }

[@WadcaWymiaru]

So install the sprinklers near the hive to stop the bees from swarming out?

[@FrederickDunn]

Not really... this only worked becuase the bees were swarming as the weather was turning cold. The following cold snap contained them further as they made use of the new space provided.

[@bradgoliphant]

Hey Frederick, please remind me where you are in the NW. I too am in the NW (NY) and was wondering if your have had any of your hives swarm yet? I'm not referring to this video. It's March 27th and here in NY we are JUST now starting to see buds on everything so we are a couple weeks away from swarm season I believe but wanted to know if your hive are in swarm mood yet. It would be helpful. Thank you my friend.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Brad, nothing is near swarming yet, no drones, no meaningful nectar flow.

[@bradgoliphant]

@@FrederickDunn Very helpful. Thank you. I asked because I'm putting my hive out in a community garden on April 12th. Hoping that will be a perfect day. Grateful.

[@kayenicole3681]

Question of clarity are you saying the bees swarm and the original queen leaves and a new queen steps up for the hive and the old queen starts a new hive? Or do they completely leave this original hive?

[@Rob-eu3wz]

Kaye, when bees swarm, the current queen leaves with around 65% of the bees in the hive. What's left of the colony, already has the hive, so they don't need as many bees as those leaving to go find a new home and then build it (i.e., draw comb, cover the inside with propolis, etc). The queen that was formerly in the managed colony, will leave with the ~65% of bees in the swarm. In the managed colony one of the queen cells will hatch, and she will be a virgin until she flies out and mates with a drone. Generally, you never want to allow this, and always requeen from a reputable queen breeder with gentle bees. You can also use checkerboarding as a method to prevent swarming. Google " Walt Wright" if you want more information on that. All of his articles are on BeeSource.com -- hope that helped!

[@noahriding5780]

That hive is sooo huge! How do you even open it up without killing your back?

[@FrederickDunn]

vitamins :)

[@Trixiegirl88]

Talk about raining on your parade, poor ole drones! Would you split the hive during the right time of season?

[@FrederickDunn]

Definitely, if this were even a month ago, I'd make a split. This queen has been on overdrive all year and I've made three other colonies from this one including my observation hive. I hope she begins to slow her egg laying very soon.

[@noahriding5780]

I'm curious if you can follow up on this again, and on other swarm prevention methods. Very few articles or information talk about the chances of success that they curb the swarm after the initial video. This leaves many feeling like, 'how reliable is such and such method?' I don't mean your method is bad but its hard to know how well expanding the hive in particular works in staying further swarm activity down the road. And few people quote numbers or follow ups. (How often it worked compared to how often it didn't. Probability, etc.) Like your videos! PS Also one thing I've noticed about other beekeepers videos is that they'll start out and name the video a certain topic. And then they spend all the time farting around in the hive without actually clearly talking about the topic that the video was supposed to be about. This is also confusing.

[@FrederickDunn]

Hmmmm..... this only worked because cold weather was inbound, AND, I gave them extra space with drawn comb. I can revisit it, but it was somewhat of a perfect opportunity that doesn't happen often. For example, it wouldn't work mid-supper, or early spring, a the warm weather would give them many opportunities to swarm out. I may discuss this a little on Friday, but I like to walk about swarms closer to spring. Thanks, Noah!

[@Ryvucz]

That's pretty cool. How many extra supers do you keep on hand for something like this?

[@FrederickDunn]

I have a rack of 12 medium supers that I rotate. Drawn out empty comb always comes in handy. During a honey flow, I remove a super full of honey and replace it with empties right away while the hive is still open. I also keep full hives - bottom board, deep box, inner and outer cover for swarm hiving so I don't have to scramble if a swarm does make it to a tree.

[@Ryvucz]

Wow, very well prepared then. Thanks for the info!

[@FrederickDunn]

I try to be and thanks for watching!

[@aae42]

@@FrederickDunn how do you keep the moths out?

[@Jake.44Mag]

Will a Virgin Queen mate with a Drone from a hive that originally swarmed out of that same hive but has been caught and setup in a different hive?

[@FrederickDunn]

Great question and anything is "possible", however, it's been demonstrated/observed, that drones won't be so enthusiastic in approaching a virgin queen that is genetically very similar. This is a muddy water area of bee genetics as we know queens can fly for several miles to a drone congregation area, but may also simply mate nearby. I wish I had a solid answer, the best I can do is say it's possible. BUT, not preferred...

[@Jake.44Mag]

@@FrederickDunn Thanks

[@prinses999tube]

this is mezmerizing...

[@littlebirdie8526]

Yes it is, Frederick Dunn is outstanding!

[@sharriceowens913]

This is my first year beekeeping and I saw my bees beard a few days ago and I checked yesterday and there were queen cells how do I tell if my queen died or is being superseded or if they are swarming

[@FrederickDunn]

If there are still eggs, the queen is still present. If there are no eggs, but still open larvae it's likely she recently swarmed. By the time the queen cells are capped, the queen either has departed or will very very soon.

[@sharriceowens913]

@@FrederickDunn I can never see eggs I guess I don't have the eye for it..I found my queen today she was still there..and yes there were several capped cells..I put her and 2 frames of brood and 1 frame of nectar in a 5frame nuc box..butni noticed after a while no bees were grading the entrance but they were still.inside..I posted a video on my page please watch it and tell me what u think amd if I did it correctly

[@Leelz247]

I would personally not stop this swarm at *this* stage and just allow nature to take its course, but useful to know nonetheless!

[@FrederickDunn]

The coming low temperatures would have ended them. I wouldn't do it in spring or summer, but late season swarms have a difficult survival rate.

[@billbaskin4631]

Sir, I am using Flow and will have my first NUCS around 3/13. The keeper from who I am buying these Saskatchewan bees told me to be ready with another brood box per hive because they overwintered well, have lots of brood, and are ready to explode. So when this happens I will then be configured with two brood boxes and when ready, will add the flow super. My brood boxes are deep 8 frame style. When and if they fill the broods and I then add the flow super, and if they take to it and start filling it with honey, if I harvest the honey thus having empty comb will this tend to reduce swarming because they will always have more room? Or should I expect to prepare to add another standard super underneath the Flow? I’m confused on the practical aspects of Flow supers besides easier harvesting. 😱. Thank you.

[@FrederickDunn]

I answer many of those questions in my recent Honey Bee Frequently Asked Questions video... please watch that as I address lots of FlowHive concerns.

[@billbaskin4631]

Thank you...must have been sleeping when I saw that video.

[@FrederickDunn]

@@billbaskin4631 sorry I've put you to sleep :)

[@billbaskin4631]

Not to worry...I’m awake now. 👀

[@wadebarnes6720]

I have been watching a lot of videos I've seen this done one time before and they ended up with two colonies wanted a virgin Queens went to the top and I would imagine the old queen stayed on the bottom separating by the honey band was the reason he said it happened

[@FrederickDunn]

Glad you're watching lots of videos Wade :) this one remained as a single colony.

[@imamgiuseppe5103]

Everybody gather around...gather around everyone the queen is coming

[@akivazohar2502]

Great video But has anyone tried preventing a swarm by putting a queen excluder on the very bottom of the hive? Preventing the queen from leaving prevnts a swarm

[@FrederickDunn]

Yes, that is one method, but remember lots of bees can't get through a queen excluder. Did you know that's how the African Killer bees made it into the Americas? Yep, they had queen excluders on the experimental hives and a beekeeper student noticed how they restricted the bees, removed the excluders and wallah, the African Killer Bees swept through that environment and migrated north :)

[@julieenslow5915]

@@FrederickDunn OH dear heavens! Well, there is no ample security against an idiot who thinks he/she is doing good!

[@FrederickDunn]

@@julieenslow5915 Hi Julie! It was frustrating as the Chief Entomologist that was controlling that particular study, was away for the weekend and that's when a curious student decided to make some "alterations" that seemed like a good idea. The original study had some real merit and they were definitely onto something regarding favorable African honey bee traits. Severe insect nerds aren't "idiots" but as with many intellectuals, they often lack common sense? I've been around "wiz kids" most of my life, and though they could fathom complex science and resolve analytical trig equations, they couldn't line up their shirt buttons, or fix a lawnmower. (';') - not being a genius is a gift I enjoy daily :)

[@julieenslow5915]

@@FrederickDunn Explanation is well stated and by my experience spot on. I am too close to a basic genius, but I missed it, and so was spared. Also I was very grounded by my family. But the thing that totally tipped the balance in my favor was very young in school I was made part of an "accelerated teaching class" which continued all the way through high school. There were three super geniuses in the class and about 20 geniuses, and they filled the numbers out with a few of us just below the cutoff. So I was one of if not the dumbest person in my class. But I did learn how to use my mind. Truly, I think I received the biggest gift that way - something I did not know or wonder about at the time - I was too busy trying to keep up! I do believe one of the three ended up homeless, one was an addict and I don't know about the third, I hope she made it. It must be very tough to be that *much* smarter than everyone around you.

[@FrederickDunn]

@@julieenslow5915 I hadn't even thought of the ramifications of being too high functioning not to be capable of blending in with society and I think you've hit on something there. Glad you were spared Julie you should join me on Facebook! You have a very interesting background!

[@ozoneyemi5178]

Is this what is called "honey bound" when the queen has no space to lsy eggs.

[@FrederickDunn]

It was actually more the number of workers over available cells for resource storage. Either way, additional boxes needed to be added.

[@kentlaurent6836]

It looked like at 6:30 a big bee came out was that your queen leaving?

[@FrederickDunn]

nope :)

[@KeineAhnungGRP]

so at 1:00 on the left side, is that a queen bee or no? =)

[@FrederickDunn]

That's a nice plump drone...

[@KeineAhnungGRP]

@@FrederickDunn oh then its my bad xd I dont see much bee's around here in the city (Austria/Vienna) it just looked so big to me :D

[@xshanghu]

What about putting a deep on top ?

[@FrederickDunn]

all options are open.

[@joemarpausal7265]

all flying creature are afraid of rain it makes them unable to fly.

[@sly9263]

HIT EM WITH THE SPRINKLER- NO MERCY!

[@FrederickDunn]

ok

[@danielweston9188]

My "teacher" would mist the area, beat some kettles and the swarms often stopped. He then split the hive asap . . .

[@FrederickDunn]

"beat some kettles" ? (';')( ';')...

[@maranscandy9350]

Frederick Dunn I believe that refers to a very old practice called “Tanging”, striking metal together to inform neighbors you are claiming ownership of the swarm you are chasing. Some beekeepers swear that tanging can be used to lead the bees to a new home/swarm trap and accept it. Perhaps tanging reminds bees of thunder and an approaching storm.

[@dwaynebramlett9763]

Did this stop the bees from swatming

[@FrederickDunn]

It did and then I expanded the hive with extra boxes. It's a combination.

[@littlebirdie8526]

@@FrederickDunn So then would you split them in the spring?

[@woodwade1]

take the reducer off and they might not swarm, entrance is to small

[@FrederickDunn]

Hi Wade, entrance size has nothing to do with swarming instincts. Thanks for that observation though.

[@woodwade1]

@@FrederickDunn seems like that small of an entrance would promote crowding and conjestion in the brood area.

[@louiseowen8397]

Please don’t think I’m mad , I’m not !

[@louiseowen8397]

I just ran for my life into the house. Thousands of bees from the hive next door erupted , flying into my yard like a snow storm ! Why did this happen?

[@FrederickDunn]

Just a swarm.

[@littlebirdie8526]

That's funny, I ticked off my bees one time, my smoker went out and I had to run for my life and fell flat on my face! My first bee inspection.

[@ozoneyemi5178]

Lik the same happened to me.. smoker ran out in the middle of inspection.. i will using organic cat litter.. told it burns slow

[@wadebarnes6720]

Just out of curiosity why would you not go in and harvest the queen sales are put the queen in a nuke and give her some resources

[@FrederickDunn]

Too late in the season for that.

[@ellenl.5581]

IN AND OUT BEEBER.

[@tammiebush7684]

I have killed millions on honey bees on my property I've even hired somebody to cut into my garage and take out a massive honey cone after 3 months the bees are back trying to get in I just killed over a million bees I just want them gone are I'm gonna half to sell my property any ideas I've tried everything

[@FrederickDunn]

Once the bees are removed from a structure, you need to seal up any openings, cracks, crevices, etc... Once bees have occupied a cavity in the past, it's very appealing to scouts. If there is no opeining in the siding, they can't move in.

[@rickabrams3422]

Why are they called "supers"?

[@FrederickDunn]

Becuase they are generally installed "above" the base brood box, as in super-structure. Also considered as "extra" or "surplus"... :)

[@SpiderMan-pf6pu]

You should get a steel sheet and crack like thunder before the rain

[@FrederickDunn]

ok

[@keithwhite5657]

Cutting down Trees 🌲🌲🌲🌲around are world from forests 🌳 to woodlands 🌳are releasing Carbon that the trees 🌲 have collect for years back into the Atmosphere and logging is cutting far quicker than planting around the world and adult trees 🌲 that take 45 years to grow that store more toxins and carbon than new planted trees does and If the logging continues to carry on then the weathers around are world will become a lot hotter and very aggressive storms will become life threatening for humans just because humans can’t stop eating massive amounts of meat 🥩 just because jobs and money are more important than life itself . PLEASE SAY NO TO LOGGING and help protect the trees and the wildlife habitats that are so important to the world we live in and also PLEASE SAY NO TO BIOMASS ENERGY that creates even more carbon dioxide that companies that produce this tell there people and workers it’s safer when it’s not and it also takes up massive amounts of land just like the food for beef industry does . Any company that’s harming an environment and destroying wildlife habitats like oil drilling - fossil fuels - fracking - biomass - farming - logging - illegal animal trading - elephants and rhinos killing for there horns and ivory etc would tell lies to keep there greedy money rolling in history has proven time after time that theses companies are destroying lands wildlife extinction and environmental loss

[@FrederickDunn]

You left out the cruise ships and the amount of pollution they emit just purely for pleasure. I can't win over my own neighbors, let alone convince the world populace. Few people care at all about the future, I hope things change.

[@sigma_kappa]

BS....they will try again the next hot day

[@FrederickDunn]

Yet, with the incoming cold weather, they remained and didn't swarm.

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

All I can see here is a negligent of beekeeper 1) For a strength of a colony it's way under stacked with a supers, should be two deeps on a bottom and at least 3 medium above queen excluder 2) Bottom entering fully open , this hive is strong enough to defend itself from a robbing and plus flow still on , all this bees on a bottom board fans they wings do not distribute any pheromones they struggle to keep hive cool and all bees come out side to free space for air circle inside of a hive, swarming tendency in September is very low unless setting up by a beekeeper and you show a perfect example of it, and rainy weather is not prevent swarming its actually stimulates bees to swarm especially in a early season by keeping field force in side and new bees keep emerging and crowded hive and restricts queen movement on a comb and distribution her pheromones which encourage bees to build a queen cells and popping a swarm at first sunny day and if young queen hatched before good weather come both young and old queens are coexist in a same hive till first sunny day and swarm. Adequate space,good ventilation, young queen, good honey flows, afternoon shade this is a factors that reduce swarming.

[@FrederickDunn]

Thank you for sharing your ideas and theories. I wish you all the best.

[@TeodorGNitu]

You are so right Sergey and "negligent" is too light of a word. All those bees were not waiting for the queen to come out, but were there because the inside was too crowded and too hot with that small entrance for such a strong colony. It takes some knowledge and experience to know the difference between different ways of fanning and this here was for cooling, not for swarming. Yeah, you'd have to keep the water hose on all day long and every day in order to stop them from swarming and even so I'm not sure you can. Give them space to work, good ventilation, unrestricted entrance and you won't see so many bees hanging outside of the hive. Unfortunately too many people are posting videos online, misleading those who come here to learn something right.

[@sergeytaranovich2368]

@@FrederickDunn It's not an ideas or theory it is all past experience keeping bees for 35 years all this things I mentioned it's very basics in beekeeping that everyone needs to learn , we manage 2600 colonies in different parts of PA and south upstate New York and seasonally in Florida,I don't want to offend You by any means but info You present in this video is showing how not to keep bees . Best of luck.