Advice and Help Please

[Brian Bush]

Can antone shed any light on what is going on?

Prior to Easter my wife contacted me 3 days running to say one hive had swarmed. Each day no sign of swarm and same number of bees in hive.
Easter Monday went through the hive and found the original queen and many queen cells. I artificially swarmend the hive moving the daughter hive to a friends garden about 50 yds away.

All seemed to be going well. The mother hive bees have been taking pollen in and I assumed the queen is laying. She is prolific.

The daughter hive I have left undistrbed to raise a new queen.

Today I was sumoned to the daughter hive. It had swarmed. A small football of bees in a bush 10 yds away and much activity in the hive.
I fetched a new hive and captured the swarm. I dusted the swarm with icing sugar and coated with light syrup. I poured the swarm into the new hive. Some old drawn comb in here.

Flying bees were gathering at the swarm site. Weny home for 20 minutes to have a cup of tea. When I returned the swarm hive was empty. My friend said he thought they had all returned to the original daughter hive.

Can any one offer and guidance or suggestions to what is happening.

 

[Polyanwood]

maybe the queen was clipped or couldn't fly properly, so when they realised she wasn't wiht them, they went back to her.

 

[Hivemaker.]

Casts,how many queen cells did you leave in the hive? did you choose one good small open cell and destroy all others,and then check a few days later and destroy any new ones. some times the bee's will hold virgins in the cell for a while if the weather has been bad.