new tenanats in swarm box

Martin · April 10, 2012, 09:59:48 AM

i have had a deep box with some old comb & lemon grass oil out for about a month . came in about dark last night to find several bees in & out . checked this morning and still have some activity . it is a little cool this morning . when i check this afternoon, if there are bees still there should i finish installing frames ( only had 3 frames in box ) , start feeding and the issue of queen excluder to keep them there? thanks , martin

G3farms · April 10, 2012, 12:17:13 PM

Has a swarm actually moved in or is this just a few scouts checking things out?

Martin · April 10, 2012, 12:33:34 PM

i'm pretty sure it is a swarm. was talking with my mother from next door and she told me that there was a cloud of bees at this box yesterday around 1:00. today there is a lot of bees in & out . can't wait to check inside but now that the temp has come up the wind is strong. advice about smoke and wind? don't want them to get irritated and abscond. thanks , martin

Bennettoid · April 10, 2012, 12:40:58 PM

Your lucky, I have never had a swarm set up in one of my bait boxes.

Martin · April 10, 2012, 12:46:22 PM

maybe just pay back for one of my other boxes that swarmed a few weeks ago. must have missed a cell on 10 day check.

hardwood · April 10, 2012, 12:48:32 PM

If a swarm actually did move in they liked the space you gave them...they chose it. No need for a queen excluder now.

Scott

asprince · April 10, 2012, 03:04:30 PM

Yes, hurry and install the rest of the frames. If you wait too long you will have a mess. A frame of brood and some syrup would be great.

Good Luck,

Steve

AllenF · April 10, 2012, 03:40:59 PM

I would bet that if you only have 3 frames in there, the swarm is now making comb on the inner cover. Many years ago I shook a swarm into a 10 frame drawn box and had an empty shallow box on top to catch the bees. Late in the day and I was busy, it was a couple of days before I got back to it to remove the empty box. They were on the bottom of the inner cover, not in the drawn frames below. Scrapped all that new comb in the trash.

Martin · April 10, 2012, 07:14:14 PM

just finished checking on the new tenants. they were covering the old comb and drawing comb on two pc's of foundation. added 7 more frames with foundation and top feeder with about a gallon of syrup . didn't see the queen but did not spend a lot of time since it was so windy. thank's , martin

asprince · April 10, 2012, 08:37:19 PM

She is in there or they probably would not be without an anchor like some brood. Give her a week and you should see larva.

Good luck,

Steve