Is it me?

[Levitt53]

Well I was give a swarm by a friend of a friend on Monday night. She came over today and they've gone. I'm beginning to think it must be me, although I haven't even put my bee suit on yet. She's going to give me a over wintered colony as she's downsizing so I hope the old saying of third time lucky is true.

 

[jenkinsbrynmair]

fresh swarms do abscond.

 

[Zante]

fresh swarms do abscond.

Isn't that why some people put a queen excluder on the entrance of a nuc with a fresh swarm, to keep the queen locked in so the bees settle?
At least that's what I heard...

 

[Erichalfbee]

Yes.
If you have it a frame of open brood is good

 

[Levitt53]

I left it up to the beekeeper. Although I'll try to remember that.

 

[misterbee82]

Yes that is precisely why a queen extruder is used in that situation. It is historically why the assistant of the master bed keeper who introduced Africanized bees to Brazil ended up accidentally releasing them and causing an chronic disaster, because he removed the extruders in 1957 and they got loose and started migration north.

 

[B+.]

queen extruder

I think you mean "queen excluder". The thought of pushing a queen through an extruder sounds cruel! ;-)