‘I'm not surprised’ I thought. ‘Monty Don’s encouraging folk
to keep bees in their gardens without any thought to disease management and
swarm prevention. We don’t need more beekeepers, we need more forage.’
Trendy? More like grumpy .... and just a tiny bit smug. I’d already swarm-controlled one of my hives a few
weeks earlier, and I was counting down the days to sorting out another hive
when my neighbour mentioned that ‘thousands of bees were flying around this
afternoon.’
Impossible! I had it under control, or so I thought. But a
quick check of my hive records revealed my error- I was a day out. It takes 8
days for bees to produce a sealed queen cell which then matures for another 8
days before the new queen emerges. Swarming
takes place any time between day 8 and 16, and usually depends upon the weather.
It had been a fine day after a period of blustery weather and the bees had
swarmed.
I was embarrassed and annoyed. Swarms frighten some people
and can be disruptive, although they seldom harm anyone. Responsible beekeepers
certainly try to prevent swarming.
With ‘more enthusiasm
than expertise’ still ringing in my ears I spoke to two of my most
experienced colleagues. They were sympathetic; ‘It’s happened to me too’, and ‘It’s
been a funny year for swarms,’ they said.
Some consolation, but I know I should really have paid closer
attention to the calendar and counted the days.
Of course for the numerically challenged there is another solution:
Clip the queen’s wing, and then she won’t be able to fly anywhere.
This is a tricky operation and some beekeepers develop this ‘skill’
by cutting the wings off drones. They say the bees feel no pain but I'm not so
sure. Regardless, I find the notion of mutilating bees to prevent them swarming
somewhat disquieting.
So it seems I'm not only trendy, I'm sentimental too!
What do you think?
