Need advice on a swarming hive....

[Echium]

Hello everyone, I have two hives, one of which swarmed a couple days ago.  I caught the swarm in a new hive box and yesterday I moved the box 50 feet back to where my other hives are.  I have read that if you move the hive more than two feet and less than two miles to put grass or sticks in front of the entrance because it will cause the bees will reorient themselves to their new location, so that is what I did.  Today they have swarmed again and now there is a big swarm cluster high up in the tree above their hive.  It is too high for me to capture them, and I'm just wondering if there is anything I can do to attract them back to the hive?  I wanted to put a lure in the hive, but am worried it might cause the other nearby hives to swarm.  Any advice?

[Kathyp]

the lure won't cause swarming.  swarms caught in your own yard can be hard to keep if stories here are any indicator.  if you get them back into a box, put a queen excluder between the bottom box and the hive body.  this might help keep the queen in long enough for the swarm to accept their new home.  also, feed.  that seems to help keep them put, but reduce the entrance so that you don't invite robbers.

[Echium]

I just went back out to see what was happening, and the swarm cluster is not in the tree anymore.  I have no idea if it went back into the hive or if it went somewhere else.  There are a lot of bees hanging around the hive though.  I want to put queen excluders on but am not sure if she is in the hive - that is good advice and I wish I had done that from the start.  I'm just not sure when to put them on at this point, or where the queen is!  I really upset the bees when I moved the hive - they seemed pretty content after I first caught them and put them in the hive box.  I wanted to just leave the box there but it wasn't an ideal location.  I want to check the hive at some point, but the bees are so mad at me for moving them and I don't want to do anything more to encourage them to leave.  How long should I wait before going checking?  There are also a lot of bees going back to the place where I had put them in the hive box, hanging around the table I had set the box on.  How should I deal with those?  Sorry for all the questions

[Kathyp]

I have no idea if it went back into the hive or if it went somewhere else

into the old hive or into the new hive.  if they went back into the new hive, i'd leave them alone.  they have made their choice.  if they went back into the old hive...same thing.  the ones that are hanging around the old place will go away.  there's not much you can do about them.

as for checking, i usually leave a new swarm alone for a week before i check to make sure the queen is laying.  you can take a quick look into the top of the hive and see if that's where they are.  i wouldn't do more than that.  if they are there, put some feed on and reduce the entrance.  don't stick your face in there without protection!

[JP]

Most likely, the swarm left the tree and found a new home somewhere else.


...JP