How long can a swarm survive outside - any advance on 16 days?

[Panteg]

I asked this question a couple of weeks ago and now have my swarm's answer - 16 days. They finally took off yesterday afternoon having endured rain and gales as well as some decent days when I was sure they would depart. They even had a couple of apples slowly expanding out of the side of the swarm!

 

[Sean.]

Did you manage to get any pictures of them with the apples showing?

 

[Heather]

Apples!! - why couldn't you reach them- bees I mean

 

[Queens59]

We still have a swarm in one of the oak trees - They first arrived on June 2...getting smaller but still there and foraging.

 

[johnmcc]

Where will they have gone? I've lost a couple of swarms in the past (one this year which was 20 feet up a rotten elder tree over a ditch on soft ground) but I've never seen or been told of domestic bees living wild around here. Do they just die out?

 

[Queens59]

Try an old church tower...I know of at least 5, and the Vicar doesn't want them moved...

 

[sherwood]

One of our swarm collectors told me of a swarm that had set up in dense branches that overwintered in the open one year the combe being drawn and icorporating surrounding branches

 

[Panteg]

It's a huge old apple tree, getting on for 100 years old. The bees were way out on a few twigs at the end of a top branch. I did get on my bike (literally) and try to find them, checked out the church tower and lots of surrounding chimneys.