Residual bees after swarm

[greatbritishhoney]

Hi,

I wonder if anyone can help me fathom this out.
I collected a swarm last night as per...

http://www.beekeepingforum.co.uk/showthread.php?t=11463

I've just been called back to the same location to find about 30 bees hanging around the spot where the swarm settled. They are definitely not left overs from yesterday - they were all in the skep when I moved it and it rained overnight.
So, are they bees from the swarm returned for some reason? Are they scout bees from another colony attracted to some residual queen pheromone? Are they just inquisitive foragers? Or what? What's the most likely explanation?

All help gratefully received

Cheers
Andy

 

[Midland Beek]

I would think they are bees attracted from the swarmed stock. The swarm may not have travelled far.

Cut off and take away branches that carry the 'scent'; try spraying with Old Spice.

 

[biggles]

Hi,
They are definitely not left overs from yesterday - they were all in the skep when I moved it and it rained overnight.

How do you know that? I had bees coming back at ten yesterday evening. When we moved one hive at ten I found ten or more bees where the hive was when I got back at eleven.

 

[susbees]

Cut off and take away branches that carry the 'scent'; try spraying with Old Spice.

Good advice....the scent will also be anywhere else she landed en route. I collected a prime last week cutting back the original branch twice til they left it in peace...to find the still swirling bees landing at point B further along the hawthorn tree. Sorted eventually.

Spraying with something was not an option due to the height but it IS a good idea. You should always tell people the last few will hang about for a bit then disperse.

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Thanks all.

Will dig that unwanted christmas prezzie of old spice out of the back of the cupboard

Biggles - I suppose they could be leftovers. I just assumed that the heavy rain and fairly cold temperatures (for the time of year) would have finished off any overnight stragglers.

 

[Monsieur Abeille]

Thanks all.

Will dig that unwanted christmas prezzie of old spice out of the back of the cupboard

.

Make sure you dont use High Karate! - it drives them wild

 

[sawdstmakr]

I suspect what you are seeing are scout bees that did not make it back to the hive before dark and stayed out over night. Jim

 

[greatbritishhoney]

Thanks again.
I left a skep down there earlier just incase another swarm was imminent. I have just collected it - no activity other than a few bees crawling round on top.
Dug the old spice out, decided it smelled nicer than I remember, so used some air freshener to douse the area instead.
Hopefully taht should sort it.

One more question - what might have attracted the original swarm to such an unsuitable place? On the floor, exposed to the elements, between two logs? There were plenty of very close branches they could have clung to, and my bait hive was only about 200 yards away.
One of the logs was a eucalyptus log. Any chance they could have been attracted to the scent?

 

[sawdstmakr]

The queen may have been week and that is where she landed.
Jim

 

[greatbritishhoney]

The queen may have been week and that is where she landed.
Jim

Yes, I suppose it depends how far she had come. Although, if it was from one of my hives that would be about 50 yards.

 

[sawdstmakr]

A bee keeper here in town has most of his hives swarm within 50' of his hives. His hives (70 of them) are in his front and back yard and he says most of them land in one of the low branches in the middle of his 1 acre yard. Jim