# Shook Swarm..Comb honey



## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

Finally got a copy of "The Comb Honey Book" very intresting read.Using his system, the shook swarm, after you put a shallow, an excluder, and comb supers, doesn't the queen lay up all available space in about a week? Wouldn't that become a problem.


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## RayMarler (Jun 18, 2008)

shook swarming is done at the start of strong nectar flow. Bees are really greedy little creatures, they'll bee so busy collecting nectar and drawing wax and storing honey above a brood nest, they won't be thinking about swarming so much. You've removed all brood in a shook swarm, plus they have to draw out wax for the queen to lay, you've slowed them down enough so they won't swarm (well, most of the time anyways). Doolittle back in late 1800's said shook swarming was swarm preventative, although I believe he kept her confined to a 8 frame deep, if I remember correctly. See his book, A Years Work In An Out Apiary, now in public domain I think? It can be downloaded here...

http://ia311012.us.archive.org/1/items/cu31924003201054/cu31924003201054.pdf


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## Beeslave (Feb 6, 2009)

Yes she will fill that shallow with brood but since you already made them swarm they usually will not swarm again. You need to time the shook swarm with your main honey flow. With the colony you use it should be at max population before shaking. Now with a small amount of brood to take care of compared to a regular colony more of the honey goes to you for the comb honey instead of raising bees. When adding more supers do not place the empty ones under the others or you will have many with pollen in the comb honey. Keep the bees crowded so they will finish the sections/frames completely. When I use this method I will place a shallow super for chunk honey(this will usually get some pollen in it) directly above the excluder and Ross Round supers above that. That super will stay there until the flows are over. Since it stays there the wax will be darker from travel stain therefore that is why I use it for chunk honey.


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## brac (Sep 30, 2009)

Very cool, Ray thanks for the link.


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