wondering if these are the stragglers or am I now just starting to see the smaller swarms? homeowner said they had been there for two weeks! same numbers..
put down a nuc and they marched in a hurry to get to the syrup i had in there. lol
(http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a311/Ducksmasher/2012-04-29_19-13-26_984.jpg)
i'm guessing little swarm. stranglers would not be so organized and i don't think they'd hang around for 2 weeks. surprised a swarm would either. might not have been the same swarms that the home owner saw. could have been a couple of small/after swarms from the same local hive. i have had the experience of multiple swarms from same hive, heading for the same tree, etc.
I bet stranglers after the swarm. They just got left behind.
Wouldn't stragglers normally return to the original hive if it wasnt destroyed ?
No. I have seen them at the swarm location for 2 or 3 weeks after a swarm. But their numbers do go down on time.