bees in empty hive

[tincan]

I had empty hive next to my active hives been empty all summer with drawn comb today I have 5 to 10 hanging around going in and out is this scout bees from swarm or stray bees

[splitrock]

Likely just robbers.

Joel

[AllenF]

Both.   And I bet some are robbing out wax also.   I had a swarm trap that picked up maybe 100 bees this year and they just stuck to one frame.   After a while I just dumped them, but I figured they were lost form a swarm I missed.  

[BeeMaster2]

More than likely they are scout bees. Put a drop of lemon grass oil on a towel, place it in a zip lock bag and zip it up about 80%. Put it in the bottom of that hive and I'll bet in the next 3 days, if you have a flow on, you have a swarm.
Jim


























5