Another Silly Question !

[Robin Ashfield]

I have a swarm in my garden that has just left one of my hives and has taken up residence in an apple tree.

If I catch it and put it in a hive adjacent to it's old home, is the swarm likely to stay?

 

[Poly Hive]

Depends. Some swarms are seriously flighty.

Cures which may or may not work are... a frame of open brood. An excluder tween brood and floor, crossing fingers.

PH

 

[pargyle]

I have a swarm in my garden that has just left one of my hives and has taken up residence in an apple tree.

If I catch it and put it in a hive adjacent to it's old home, is the swarm likely to stay?

Good chance if you follow the 'standard' method of swarm catching here:

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?p=538253#post538253

Make sure you have the queen in the box you capture them in and make sure she gets transferred to the hive ..

A frame of brood from your hive will help a lot to keep them anchored and they will build comb like the devil is after them .. A litre or two of 1:1 will give them a head start comb building and help to combat those who think there's a better place to go ...

Capture them as soon as you can and leave the swarm box in place where they are settled until all the bees are in residence after dusk and then move it.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

I have a swarm in my garden that has just left one of my hives and has taken up residence in an apple tree.

If I catch it and put it in a hive adjacent to it's old home, is the swarm likely to stay?

No problem putting them adjacent to their new home as they have rebooted their homing signal - but some swarms will abscond regardless - especially if headed by a virgin.
PArgyle has given some sound advice

 

[snelgrove]

I find they abscond more or less straight away, if hived in the evening they will go first thing next morning. if collected in say a skep during the after noon they can leave the skep within minutes if they have a better place to go. Placing a queen excluder under the skep or hive can stop them, but if it's a virgin in swarm she may squeeze through.

 

[Etton]

Thought it was always the existing queen that swarmed and left the QC for the future? The virgin queen hatches and mated and starts laying. Is that wrong then, does a new Miss queen hatch goes off swarming and leaves old Mrs queen behind in the hive.

 

[sbisme]

Thought it was always the existing queen that swarmed and left the QC for the future? The virgin queen hatches and mated and starts laying. Is that wrong then, does a new Miss queen hatch goes off swarming and leaves old Mrs queen behind in the hive.

If it's a prime swarm it will be the old queen and don't forget they slim her down ready to swarm, if it's a cast then yes it will be a virgin queen, hope I'm right but someone will be along to put me right if not.

 

[Dadnlad]

You are correct - if there is only one QC left in the hive

If there are numerous QC's left, there could be numerous subsequent caste swarms with virgins

Hence why we reduce QC's to one

 

[Erichalfbee]

The old queen is the first to go with half the bees.
She leaves behind a number of swarm cells of different ages.
If the colony is still strong the first Virgin to emerge will ultimately leave the hive when she is ready to fly with another half of the bees.This is a cast or afterswarm.
This continues till either the colony dwindles or more usually settles down with their remaining chosen virgin.
If more than one virgin is ready to emerge and the colony is still set on swarming the bees will corral the emerging queens so that they do not encounter each other.

 

[beeno]

I have a swarm in my garden that has just left one of my hives and has taken up residence in an apple tree.

If I catch it and put it in a hive adjacent to it's old home, is the swarm likely to stay?

If you are sure it is the old queen then you can keep a QX on for a week, but if it is a virgin only three days because she needs to go on mating flights. All in the lap of the gods though. Good luck.

 

[Etton]

The old queen is the first to go with half the bees.
She leaves behind a number of swarm cells of different ages.
If the colony is still strong the first Virgin to emerge will ultimately leave the hive when she is ready to fly with another half of the bees.This is a cast or afterswarm.
This continues till either the colony dwindles or more usually settles down with their remaining chosen virgin.
If more than one virgin is ready to emerge and the colony is still set on swarming the bees will corral the emerging queens so that they do not encounter each other.

Yet my swarm this week must have contained a virgin queen as I checked my hive again and saw my queen and I'm sure the swarm came from her hive, unless they swarmed without a queen!

 

[Hivemaker.]

Yet my swarm this week must have contained a virgin queen as I checked my hive again and saw my queen and I'm sure the swarm came from her hive, unless they swarmed without a queen!

I have on very rare occasion had a swarm issue with a virgin queen, while the old mated queen remained in the hive.