I was revisiting the BBKA Course in a Case....

[Neils]

Bionic Gavin? No need to read books, just put them on a USB stick and insert them...... Ahem.

[Rosie]

That's probably the best place for my book!

Rosie

[Jimbo]

Rosie,

When are you doing the Kindle version so I can download it? USB sticks are so old hat

[Johneboulougne]

I have been keeping bees for 2 years and have just registered for the forum having found this link. I would really like to know what methods you prefer. At our local club we are taught the Pagden method but with the addition of a queen excluder between floor and brood box on box B. This is removed after 3 days.

[gavin]

Welcome, Johneboulougne

There is such a diversity of methods and variants, and many of us would use different ones at different times and in different circumstances. I still use the basic artificial swarm most years, but will do other things too. Three-in-a-box Demarees using the Wedmore split board, and once I have Apideas mastered properly maybe queen rearing will become more controlled and the need for artificial swarming reduced.

The simplest artificial swarm is what we teach our raw beginners. Then they can diversify later once they have some experience. I tend to avoid names like Pagden, Demaree, Snelgrove, Cloak, because presumably at one time these methods were precise variants of other methods. For example, I'm unclear as to exactly what a Padgen is and find the name associated with several variants. I know very well that a classic artificial swarm means splitting a hive and having the queen and fliers in one box, the house bees and the queen cells in another.

The method you teach your locals sounds like the Hooper one which appears to be designed for a weekly inspection regime. The simplest artificial split we promote - easiest for beginners to grasp and perform - is to split the colony when Q cells appear. Keep one good Q cell (usually unsealed) in the old box which is moved aside. Leave one frame with the old queen and no Q cells in a box on the old site and ideally leave empty comb too to avoid congestion. Later (a few days to a week) check that there are no new Q cells in either box. That's pretty much it. No need for a QX under boxes, no need to move boxes again. The only complication I add to that is the desirability of making up a nuc with another Q cell as insurance if the first one fails. Keeping the bees in for a few days with grass helps them stay at home and shaking in a couple of frames of young bees helps too.

[Neils]

We actually teach the same method as on the slides in this thread (and as per Gavin above) but only leaving ONE queen cell. We also teach a simplified version of Snelgrove's system.

I think the only variation on Gavin's method is we tend to suggest a second swap of the Brood section of the AS to the other side of the Queen Section of the AS at that first inspection a week after.

I think this version does have simplicity as it's main advantage as long as you have the space to be switching brood boxes around it's also very easy to explain and put into context exactly what it is you're trying to achieve at each step of the operation.

I'm going to be trying our snelgrove variation (basically less messing around opening and closing doors) this year as I need to AS upwards rather than across because of limited space.


And welcome to the forum.