Swarm into bait hive advice please

[dickbowyer]

I got home yesterday to find my Bait hive full of a swarm of bees. It had foundation in brood box frames (with swarm lure for good measure) and drawn comb in super above. Do I just leave frames as they are, take off the super of drawn comb for the moment or put a QE between them after making sure Q in brood box? Aiming to leave entrance block in, feed on the third day (friday) with 1 gallon of 1:1 sugar syrup from Miller feeder and only refeed if weather turns bad (which seems unlikely at the moment) and remove entrance block once finished feeding. Does that sound about right?

 

[Floss]

First - fantastic! Second - I am not sure as my bait hive is very empty! I imagine someone more experienced will be along shortly but I would imagine that you should leave the super off until they have sorted themselves out in the brood box. Otherwise sounds about right what you are doing!

 

[Poly Hive]

Leave the sup off yes.

I had a swarm arrive last weekend in my spare supers. Over the weekend they had half drawn out half the combs of each super. I gave them a brood box and popped HM down below the excluder.

Wednesday they had made serious progress in filling more honey into the supers but HM was being ignored. I left them to it until yesterday when there were cells in the super.

I cleared them down on Sunday and today they have four combs drawn in the brood box, three laid up and are working on the fifth.

Funny things swarms.

Oh yes and calm dark bees.

PH

 

[Midland Beek]

drawn comb in super above.

You will find the queen in the drawn super along with the rest of the bees. She and her bees are there now ... too late.

Stick brood box of foundation above super of drawn comb (no excluder) and feed.

 

[dickbowyer]

When should I have taken off the drawn comb? Before swarm arrived, just after arrival or is it right to just allow them to draw out the brood box foundation as and when placed above super?

 

[oliver90owner]

I would be getting that super above the brood box as soon as possible/practicable, with the queen downstairs and a Q/E between. Three weeks to wait to get the super clear of brood and less likely to get pollen dumped in it.

Regards, RAB