Did a cutout a few weeks ago. The remaining bees absconded and swarmed into a nearby tree. Placed a trap and they moved in. I went to collect the trap the next day, but because of the rain a good bit of bees clustered under a patio table instead of entering the hive. I placed the trap under the table and they started moving in. Some bees didn't seem to know where the entrance was and were walking under the trap. Gave them an hour or so to move in and left with the trap. The queen was in there. Verified this week. Anyhow, after two weeks with rain every day and temps dipping down to the 40's I got a call from the homeowner saying bees were trying to move into the cut out area. I went to look, but it was only robbing activity. Followed their flight path behind the house and saw a bit of activity near where I had set the trap. Went under the deck and there was a cluster of bees about the size of a cantaloupe hanging under the deck. My question is, is it normal for a queenless cluster to stay put like that? And how did they make it in such bad weather. They did not build any comb in that time. I took them home and gave them a box and will just observe them to see what they do for a few days.
There may be a virgin queen that escaped during the cut out. If they had planned on swarming more than once the nurse bees will sometimes keep them in their cell. I saw this once doing a split. The cell(s) were already opened but they obviously wouldn't let them out. From my readings they'll keep and feed them there. How long? I don't know.