Why Are They Small?

There are a number of causes for why a swarm ended up undersized. Had been they victims of circumstance or is there one thing amiss with them? We are able to solely guess, however typically time of yr informs my theories.  

If it’s spring or summer season, the swarm may need been half of a bigger swarm. In my earlier submit, I described how multi-queen swarms generally cut up up after they’ve left the mom hive. When this occurs the cut up just isn’t at all times even. Maybe one queen had a weaker scent than the opposite queen(s) and failed to draw very many bees. Even a conventional single-queen swarm may be much less populous if they arrive from a modest sized colony. Some colonies nest in tight cavities that don’t permit them to develop and their ensuing swarms are meager. 

If it’s late summer season or fall, I’m robotically suspicious of a small “swarm”. That is the time of yr when sick colonies abscond from their nests. So, a tiny swarm might not be a swarm in any respect, it may very well be the remnants of a dying colony. 

At any time of yr, a small swarm is perhaps a sign that one thing went incorrect. Swarms take an opportunity once they depart their hives. Something would possibly occur to them as they journey to a brand new dwelling. They’ve solely a restricted quantity of honey with them of their honey stomachs and solely a restricted variety of bees. Generally their luck runs out. A swarm would possibly fail to discover a nesting website and start to dwindle from hunger. They could collide with a shifting truck and lose half their bees or they may come into contact with pesticides.

Are They Value It?

As beekeepers, our intuition is perhaps to attempt to save a swarm irrespective of it’s measurement, but when a small swarm is unlikely to outlive anyway… you need to ask your self, is it value it? To save lots of a small colony you’ll must spend time, gasoline, tools and dissipate a spot in your apiary. You’ll want to make use of assets from stronger hives (like capped brood and honey) to spice up them and this might weaken your sturdy colonies. You’ll additionally want to speculate much more time feeding them and monitoring their progress. Revisit my article on methods to save a failing hive for all the guidelines. One other draw back of catching a small swarm is the danger they may deliver to your different colonies. Are they carrying viruses or a excessive mite load that they may cross to your different colonies?