Bees

[shirlton]

One of our allotment holders/beekeeper's bees decided to swarm the night before last so now we have bees on the allotment. We did not expect to have them so soon.We are opposite the wildlife center so of course they are near to us. You should have seen them yesterday all over me wallflowers. Another interest for me now I suppose. I just have a very inquisitive mind.

[shirlton]

[goodlife]

Already..!!Swarm :o...hold on to them..I'll be there soon.. ;) ;D I've got just a place for them... ;D

[Robert_Brenchley]

It's very early for a swarm; is it a great mass of bees all in a lump? It's not completely impossi to have an April swarm, but it's very unusual as they normally have to build up the numbers first, and there won't normally have been drones available for a new queen to mate with. April swarms aren't even mentioned in the old rhyme.

[shirlton]

I can assure you that it was a swarm they went into a holly tree in the persons garden and they had to cut the branch off and get them into a box and take them to the allotment A.S.A.P. We are fortunate to have 3 people on the allotment who keep bees at home so they know how to look after them. They have been all over my wallflowers again today.

[Twoflower]

We took one of our hives apart the other day as we had a laying worker, and there where lots of drones. Last year the first swarm in my area was about the 18th of April.

[Robert_Brenchley]

I vaguely remember that a few years ago when we had the very hot summer a local commercial beekeeper complained that all his overwintererd nucs swarmed in April. He keeps Carniolans, which are central European bees with a reputation for extremely rapid spring buildup, and hard to control swarming. That could be it.

[Plot69]

we had a laying worker,

Nothing worse that a laying worker. Chap I used to work with got the sack for sleeping on the job...  ::)

[Vortex]

One of the Beekeepers at the local association has already had a hive swarm this year, and one of the club hives is actively making play cells.