Demaree Method
Reference methodA reference Demaree workflow for strong colonies showing swarm pressure, with practical follow-up timing built into an inspection planner.
The Demaree method is a classic swarm-control technique for strong honey bee colonies that keeps the colony intact while relieving congestion. The queen stays below an excluder with fresh comb to lay; the bulk of the brood is moved above two honey supers, separating the queen pheromone trail from the broodnest. Follow up around day 7–8, day 14–15, and day 21–22 to remove emergency queen cells before they emerge.
Use the Demaree method when the colony is strong, the queen is laying well, and you want to ease swarm pressure without breaking the production colony into separate units.
- Read through the full method before opening the hive, then carry it out consistently so the brood moves, box order, and flying-bee return pattern all support the same plan.
- Keep the laying queen below the excluder with room to continue laying, move most brood above, and give the colony space upward so congestion does not rebuild immediately.
- Once the initial setup is finished, generate the follow-up plan from the actual setup date and treat the warning banners as prompts to review your timing, especially around the day 7 to 8 queen-cell check.
- Check that the hive is a strong colony with enough bees and brood to justify the method.
- Confirm there is clear swarm pressure, such as congestion, charged queen cells, or a colony building hard into the flow.
- Make sure you can find and confidently retain the laying queen in the lower brood box.
- Have a queen excluder ready, with at least two honey supers available to stack above it.
- Prepare a spare brood box with drawn comb so the colony can be rearranged without leaving the queen cramped.
- Choose a settled weather window so the colony can reorganise without a prolonged interruption.
- The queen keeps laying in the lower box while the upper brood area loses the support pattern that usually feeds swarm preparation.
- Flying bees continue to return to the original stand, which helps maintain activity below and reduces congestion in the brood moved upward.
- Because the colony stays together, the method can preserve honey-gathering momentum better than a full artificial split.
Preparation
- Find a spare brood box with foundation or drawn comb.
- Using foundation may reduce honey crop as the bees will use a lot of stores for wax generation.
- Move the brood box(es) off the hive floor and place the new empty box at the bottom.
Hunt the Queen
- Inspect the old brood box(es) and locate the Queen.
- Take her and the frame she was found on and place it in the centre of the new box, removing any queen cells that are on that frame.
Brood Manipulation
- If using double brood, manipulate the frames so that all brood is in a single box.
- If there are more than will fit, add the remainder to the bottom box with the queen and redistribute the empty frames.
- Make sure to knock down all queen cells.
- With the queen safe you can shake bees off the frames to make sure you find them all.
- (Double Brood) - You should now have three brood boxes.
- Box with the queen, mostly empty directly on the hive floor.
- Box with no brood - place this on top of the queen to retain double brood status.
- Box with all the brood - keep this aside for now.
Reassembly
- Put the queen excluder on top of the new brood boxes.
- Add the supers (minimum 2, add extra if more space is required).
- Place an additional queen excluder over the supers.
- The box with all the brood now goes on top of the supers.
- Fit crown board and roof and the job is done.
Critical timing
The first follow-up is the point where timing matters most.
If that queen-cell check slips beyond the recommended window, cells may be close to emergence and the colony can quickly return to swarm mode.
Advantages
- Works well as a swarm control method.
- Can be used for queen-right cell raising when queen rearing, without the need to set up another colony.
- Comb renewal is simple.
- Good brood combs can be drawn out in the top box.
- The effect is similar to an artificial swarm, but the colony is kept together.
Disadvantages
- As with other swarm control methods one queen cell missed in the top box may result in a swarm.
- Large colonies result, so probably not a good method for beginners as bees need to be shaken off all combs.
- There may be heavy lifting.
- Regular inspections are essential.
- You MUST understand the basics.
Sign in to plan your inspections
Create a free account to generate Demaree checkpoints, link them to one of your hives, and save them as scheduled inspections.
- Day 7-8Inspect the brood-above-super box for queen cells and remove any that have been started.
- Day 14-15Review again for any late-started queen cells and confirm the brood arrangement still supports the Demaree setup.
- Day 21-22Carry out a final review to decide whether the colony can be normalised or still needs close swarm-pressure monitoring.
The first follow-up is the point where timing matters most.
If that queen-cell check slips beyond the recommended window, cells may be close to emergence and the colony can quickly return to swarm mode.