caught a swarm yesterday about the size of a softball. it's in a nuc for now. if i check it & there is no queen do i need to put it in a hive body & do a newspaper combo? OR if i just shake them out in the apiary will they find homes in the other hives there?
I'm thinking either of those should work...
i'd probably just do the shake out.
if i shook them into a hive there'd probably be a battle eh? when i install a swarm into a hive i put an empty hive body on top of the hive to act as a funnel. after they've settled down i take the empty box off & add the inner cover & replace the outer cover. what if i put an empty hive body on top of an inner cover & added the bees that way?
if there's a flow on they can probably get in a hive without much of a fight. don't shake them into the hive, shake them in front of it.
no sign of a queen so i shook them out into the yard. they really became attched to that nuc overnight. they do not want to leave it so i put it on top of the hive that could use a few more bees.
a swarm that size may well have been an after swarm with a virgin queen. i would have given them a little time. you can always combine later or shake out. you have a long season, so a newly mated queen has plenty of time to catch up.
but...
oh well.....when i opened the nuc the swarm looked smaller than when on the tree. i'd have to down grade them to baseball size. i looked pretty good & in that small of a wad of bees the queen is usually easier to spot, tho i still could have missed her. the hive that i put the nuc is on top of is queenless. if there was a queen maybe she'll find her way into that hive.
just got a call so i'm off after another swarm.
If the hive you put it on top of is queenless, that makes all the difference in the world :-D Now wait to see if you had a queen or virgin queen.