Thanks Paul, that sounds like a good plan. I’ll take a look later in the week.
t: 07790 908144
e:karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
On 16 May 2022, at 20:22, Oxnatbees <oxnatbees@xxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Hi Karen,
I generally say "don't fiddle with them for 3 days", partly because they
commonly have 3 days' food in their stomachs when they swarm.
That would mean tomorrow, but the weather looks les breezy on Wednesday so
I'd say then.
Long term: natural nests tend to have small entrances, but if this accidental
one is say only one bee in width, they will eventually experience traffic
jamming and probably seek other exits. But my impression is - they only guard
ones near the brood nest! (Ie near populated comb.) And an entrance in a non
standard position could lead to uninspectable, distorted comb. So it's a good
idea to block ones you don't need.
Paul
On Mon, 16 May 2022, 19:21 Karen Giles, <karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Thanks so much for the swarm Paul, just to update you I put them in late on
Saturday, around 9pm, there was no time for a walk in so they were
unceremoniously plonked in, it went very well, even the 4 stragglers in
their own box marched happily in, yesterday I was a bit worried as there was
a cluster on the opposite side of the tbh to the entrance, I’ve now removed
the wasp guard arrangement on the main entrance but on closer inspection the
majority are choosing to enter via what must be a tiny hole between 2 bars
on the other side! I wonder if it’s a knot hole as you can’t really tell
from the outside. (Im beginning to wonder if this was the cause of my wasp
problem last year also!)
I was of the mind to let them settle for at least a week but do you think I
should get in there to locate the hole and close it or can I just assume
once their numbers increase they will go with the lovely round drilled holes
I have provided them with?! Any suggestions welcome!
On another note Philippe was on country file last night, he’s such an
amazing bee ambassador!
Best
Karen
t: 07790 908144
e:karen@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
