Reduced my hives down and set up for winter a couple of weeks ago. Everything looked good and settled. I was cleaning up the barnyard for a nice winter's nap today with winds gusting to 20 mph. Next thing I knew I was in a cloud of bees that were having a tough time holding the swarm together. Eventually a large softball sized swarm settled and was hived. I probably will do a pinch and combine this week but was wondering if anybody else has had this late of a swarm or an explanation. Goldenrod has been dead for about 2 weeks here.
Make sure you do not have an empty hive somewhere.
Checked all my hives and didn't see any abnormal behavior. That sized swarm wouldn't be so evident in a full hive so I probably missed it. In 50+ yrs of beekeeping though I never had this happen.
Swarm in July, let them fly. What is a swarm in October worth?
down here i have gotten swarms in november. i hive them and feed them. they do good down here but our winters are very mild.
bailey
supersedure queen went on mating flight and a handful of workers got confused. we called the "pop up" swarms way back when.
Very interesting that you have experienced the latest swarm in 50 yrs. Glad you shared that news.
Cheers,
Drew