Swarm Control Using Checkerboarding - Theory

[@duanevonbargen7516]

Looks like a paradigm shift in beekeeping. Good vid on the subject.

[@carollane8694]

Hello, this is an interesting video and ethos in general since I have become an accidental low input beekeeper due to health issues. I have had to adapt and used checkerboarding as part of my strategy. I didn't know it was an "invented" thing I've just always done it if I'm going to double brood boxes up. The hives that I couldn't work early in the year swarmed from their single broods all of which I caught. The swarmiest of all was the hive with the oldest frames ergo greatest risk of high mite count and bacterial issues. Nature and the bees know best and they wanted a new clean home. I have since doubled all my other brood boxes using checkerboarding to ensure they draw out the top chamber. Never had issues with this method and it has been really useful in the current circs. My bees are happier, calmer and less swarmy than they've ever been

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

Thanks Carol. Pleased to hear you have happy bees and your excellent beekeeping observations have intuitively led you to a low impact solution. Less swarming also means a happy beekeeper. All the best.

[@viscache1]

What is the hive mortality rate from absconding, wax moth, beetle, veroa, when leaving the hives and only managing space? Also is there real benefit to doing this, more honey, more splits, etc? Can this be modified for horizontal hives?

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

Hi, we don't have hive beetle in the UK so I cannot comment. However, we have not noticed any difference in absconding or mortality rate from this method compared to historic colony data, albeit this is not something I can say with statistical significance due to the relatively low numbers I have monitored. We freeze the frames taken off the hive after the honey crop and store with correx sheets between boxes in the winter to prevent reinfestation. We don't go into boxes until late March so I cannot comment if wax moth proliferates during the winter on the periphery of the hive, but I can say based upon the size of the colony I would not want to be a wax moth in there in April. Regarding varroa, it really is colony specific, and I personally haven't noticed a huge difference in mite counts as a % of brood. Most of the hives checkerboarded by our group are treatment free, and those that aren't are in the process of becoming treatment free. The size of the colony is huge, the brood nest is the equivalent of four deep national brood bodies in the late Spring, so honey crops of 100lbs+ are quite normal. But if the weather and nectar flow is poor, then the huge brood nest will consume a lot of stores quickly so it can result in a poor yield as well, but on the whole it is a better honey crop than a standard hive with queen excluder. If you want to use this method for generating brood for splits then it is great due to the huge unconstrained brood nest. I have used this myself to create a lot of nucs in June ready for overwintering. I don't know if this method has been used in horizontal hives so I cannot comment, but you have me thinking about trying it 🙂

[@robh1789]

Thanks for the video. Any tips on how to find the WW papers and other material that you mention is on Beesource? I have looked around there without success.

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

Hi Rob, Walt Wright published a lot of his work on Beesource here: www.beesource.com/threads/walt-wright.365657/ There are some additional more recent documents from other beekeepers with some refinements on the approach but the principles of Walt's approach remain the same.

[@robh1789]

@@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408 Many thanks. I had seen some of this, but not all, and will read it all over.

[@gerardkelly881]

Very interesting, thank you

[@TH-cl5be]

so do you not get the backfilling dry cell with the checkerboard system round the April time. 15:00 has me a bit confused

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

No, they don’t backfill the brood area as long as you keep empty supers on top during the nectar flow. The fracturing of the stores above the brood nest and unrestricted brood space are the key elements of this method. But it is not foolproof, if they run out of space in the supers they will then ultimately backfill brood areas and the swarm impulse will return.

[@TH-cl5be]

@@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408 so does this principal work with a single brood then queen excluder then keep on top of your supers with the top super always empty and checkerboarded or must you let the brood area grow or it will still swarm

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

@@TH-cl5be the minimum is double brood with the upper box being capped stores. You checkerboard the top box of stores with empty comb and remove the queen excluder. The brood will chimney through the three boxes and if the queen is prolific also lay brood in the fourth once added. Any restriction on the brood nest or failing to add space to the top of the colony will potentially lead to the swarm impulse returning. Apart from disease checks there are no inspections required.

[@TH-cl5be]

@@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408 ok thanks, i thought there might of been a chance i could still run single brood box only then just cherckerboard supers keeping ahead of the bees and not have them swarm.

[@andygardner6016]

What effect does breaking the stores over double the are have on the bees ability to cluster/feed over winter? Also this will mean you need double the are in the hive over winter for the bees to keep warm!!!!

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

I think that is the main fear that will prevent beekeepers from attempting this. The method was developed in a region with far colder winters than the UK so we assumed that the bees were able to adapt to the early change in hive configuration. My own observations in cold weather and through a perspex quilt is that the cluster chimneys into a more elongated shape rather than a flat topped rugby ball shape (I hope that makes sense). I had a very quick check of the colonies on Wednesday and both checkerboarded colonies had brood over 2 national deeps with the bottom brood body being empty. They have similar amounts of brood to my colonies that were overwintered in a double brood body that I did not checkerboard. We plan to record our first 'proper' inspections of the checkerboarded colonies in early April to give you a sense of the difference between a checkerboarded and non-checkerboarded colony.

[@bobfanning6816]

​@@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408 Walt's initial testing was done in north Alabama / Southern middle Tennessee USA. We have very mild winters here.

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

@@bobfanning6816 Correct, sorry I was responding on my phone. I should have said that the method is implemented in far colder regions than the UK. We regularly talk to beekeeping groups in the US as far north as New Jersey that implement checkerboarding.

[@idehene.isaiah4788]

If there is no queen excluder will the queen not lay eggs in everywhere in the space above the hive

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

The method allows the colony to extend the brood area to the extent that they need, which in my experience is 3-4 deep boxes but this depends on the queen/forage etc. It is the unrestrained brood area and fracturing of the stores during the early spring that prevents the swarm impulse from materialising. In July (UK) the brood area reduces and they backfill with stores. Plus the bottom box is used for pollen and only a limited amount of brood. It is quite different to running a colony with a queen excluder.

[@cyclist20]

does your book cover checker boarding in a long hive?

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

We have only implemented this on a standard vertical hive. It might be worth trying this approach though in a long hive and see if it works.

[@matthewb7800]

On the topic of backfilling, are they swarming because they've run out of cells to store nectar and start backfilling -OR- are they doing as you said, backfilling because they plan to swarm. 🐔 And the 🥚

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

If they run out of space at the top they will have to store nectar somewhere and the only place will be the brood nest. This means all the bees in one place. Too many bees, no space to groom each other/spread queen pheromone and the swarm impulse starts. This method keeps them working by having an unrestricted brood nest, always somewhere to store nectar and prevents the swarm impulse from being realised. If the queen starts to fail, they supersede rather than swarm.

[@matthewb7800]

@@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408 I agree with you 100%. The point I was trying to make is that we've always been taught that the back-filling a brood nest leads to swarming. You were the first person I've heard say that they start back-filling in preparation TO swarm. Just something I hadn't heard before... and seems a bit of which came first... back-filling or desire to swarm. Granted, if we manage space correctly, as with checkerboarding, swarming is less of an issue. Dick Brickner here in the US is a big proponent of the checkerboarding as well. I had planned to try it this year but we had a poor nectar flow. Maybe next year!

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

@@matthewb7800 it is absolutely worth trying even on just one colony,. It is scary at first not looking in the brood every week, but having done it this year in what has been a very swarmy season in the UK I am convinced on the merits of this approach. Mainly due to the simplicity of the method v spending a lot of time each week judging the brood nest under an excluder or moving stores/brood around.

[@gordondean1782]

How does this philosophy collide with the thought that swarms are actually good for the hive as the break in egg laying slows down Varroa?

[@lowinterventionbeekeeping5408]

A good question, but swarming for beekeepers can cause a real nuisance to neighbours so it is not something we rely on for managing varroa. John, Anita and Gill are treatment free and have been for a number of years. There are a number of options for managing varroa and achieving treatment free status, but in reality this can take years to achieve so won’t suit the average beekeeper. I am hoping to persuade John to do a series of videos next year on the steps to being treatment free.