swarm connundrum...advice needed

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Joined
May 29, 2018
Messages
1,741
Reaction score
374
Location
East Sussex
Hive Type
National
Number of Hives
9.5
3rd swarm from same spot in national

1. i gauge its been there 3 days
2. Virgin queen as stores/pollen in brace comb no eggs
3. we go away tomorrow for 2 weeks (work, cant help it)
4. have 2 swarms in poly nucs in our garden 1 mile from this new swarm (both had laying queens)
5. 1 of those swarms is developing faster than the other and has 3-4 frames of capped brood - the other has 3-4 half frames of BIA

options
1. leave swarm where it is - get virgin queen mated and come back and review options
2. (my pref if people think its a viable option). Lose virgin queen (if i can find her) put swarm in super with foundation, QE below and newspaper above the stronger of the colonies above. Thinking is, the bees merge, they zero their location as stuck in a super with paper below for a day or two (currently 1 mile down road) Theyre added to the capped brood soon to emerge and may be a colony for honey this year.

or something else....i know disadvantage or second option is left with older queen

HELP
 
Catch swarm put in Nuc box .. move next to existing hive.
Add extra nuc bodies above current bodies with undrawn foundation.
Go away for 2 weeks come back to 3 colonies :)
 
so leave as.....

if i do, i may add nuc extension to the colony thats doing v well with foundation....

todays swarm, i will leave in a nuc with 6 frames foundation?
 

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