i think bees attract bees

[Cuckmere couple]

swarm passing the house today...3rd since we started keeping bees

suited up and straight to garden hives in case id missed a cell...all still there and doing fine...so wasnt ours

dont think i can remember seeing swarms like that before bees...maybe more tuned in of course!

 

[Boston Bees]

swarm passing the house today...3rd since we started keeping bees

suited up and straight to garden hives in case id missed a cell...all still there and doing fine...so wasnt ours

Did you shake the bees from every brood frame in every hive?

If not, sorry, at least one or two of these swarms has been yours

 

[Cuckmere couple]

i saw my marked queens in each hive and did shake the bees off, yup

 

[Sutty]

Swarms certainly attract swarms!
I had a nuc with a queen ihad removed as part of swarm control. Once the donor looked to be doing ok I squished the Q, divided the nuc into 2 (B.S. nuc) and introduced QCs from another hive. It turned out the QCs weren't viable and they swarmed on EQCs they had made. The 1st more populous half went 1st, pitching nearby. When the other half started (40 minutes later) I switched the entrance to QE mode. The flying bees then all joined the 1st swarm right in front of my eyes!
I cut back to 1 QC once they all settled down, removed the divider so probably 1 QC and a virgin, and left them to sort themselves out.
At least the 2nd half joining made it a half decent sized swarm!

 

[Swn58]

I picked up a third swarm from the allotments where one of my apiaries is only the other day. The resident bees are very well looked after to prevent them swarming, but that doesn't stop some plot holders from thinking the swarms come from my bees! I had an allotment at this site five years before I kept bees there and I never saw a swarm then. It is plainly obvious that bees attract other bees, thus causing swarms to come in during this time of the year.