Lisa's swarm season notes

Lisa Simpson here. With swarm season heating up, here's what I've been watching for in my hives — and what to do when (not if) you spot the signs.

Reading the queen cups

Empty cups don't mean swarm. Cups with eggs mean she's thinking about it. Cups with larvae mean she's already decided and you're catching up. Mine had larvae in the cups before I even noticed they were drawn out, which is exactly the situation a split would have prevented.

What I tried this year

• Added a second deep two weeks earlier than last year — bought me time.
• Did a preemptive walk-away split on the strongest colony. Both halves came through fine.
• Skipped the inspection on the weakest colony for an extra week. They were quietly raising a queen and I would have squashed her if I'd opened the hive.

The board has the swarm call list posted at the next meeting. If you want to be on it for spring callouts, sign up there — it's the best way to catch a swarm for free.