Queenless Colony - How long will they last?

[EDCHEF]

Hi All
Arrived back from our holidays eight days ago to discover that my wife's son had captured a swarm for us and placed it in our garden
Work commitments/laziness meant that we hadn't been able to inspect them until yesterday evening(observation from outside showed us that there was much activity)
Yesterday I discovered a swarm on the ground about ten metres from the hive which we promptly rehoused in another hive.
If these bees are half of the original swarm one lot will be queenless. No queen or queen cells were found on inspection and no evidence of brood ( we have only had them just over a week) They have managed to make up about three frames of stores in this time
How long will they last - and what should we do if they are indeed queenless?

 

[oliver90owner]

If

Little word, big meaning. I suggest you find out before making any rash decisions.

IF they happen to be what you think, the obvious course of action would be to re-unite?

 

[AndreaW]

You don't know yet that there isn't a virgin queen in the second swarm. If it is a cast from the original I doubt they would have departed without a queen. You need to give her a few weeks to mate and come into lay, if no eggs or larvae then you can test for queenlessness by putting in a test frame. Wait a bit and let the bees do what they do.