Swarm investigating hive

[busybeemum]

Hi everyone I am looking for a bit of advice.

A friend gave me an old bee hive and I have been on a beginners course. The last two days bees have been investigating the hive. It starts with a couple then builds up then in the evening the bees vanish. Today there must have been a hundred bees inspecting. My question is why are they hesitant? They are obviously interested and even though the weather was cold today they were checking out every bit of the hive. It's an old brood box with some old comb in (I know where it's come from) is it a bad sign that they aren't committing to the hive?

 

[masterBK]

Be patient they will come. Scouts start looking several days before the swarm issues.

 

[busybeemum]

I should add there is no honey in the comb and they were checking out the entrance and the outside of the hive as much as the inside. My beekeeper friend has only caught a swarm once and said it arrived the same day inspecting began? Was this just luck?

 

[busybeemum]

Thank you for your reply! I swear I am trying to be patient with haha. I did have to do an eviction of a massive spider a few days ago but I checked tonight and he seems to have gone

 

[philipm]

All my bait hives have been busy this week,It doesn't always mean they will have a swarm the bees will investigate and with any luck move in if the hive is what suits them.

 

[Newbeeneil]

I should add there is no honey in the comb and they were checking out the entrance and the outside of the hive as much as the inside. My beekeeper friend has only caught a swarm once and said it arrived the same day inspecting began? Was this just luck?

You certainly don't want honey in the comb or it will encourage robbing.
Just give them time and the will come provided their owner doesn't find the swarm cells.

 

[Swarm]

And then again, they may not turn up at all.

 

[Millet]

I have only had two swarms arrive in a bait nuc and on both occasions they where my bees however the last one failed (clipped Queen)..i started to see one then two bees showing interest.. as the day went on maybe thirty bees in and out of the entrance.. by 6pm they have all gone...the next day the same happened again with even more bees...on the third day around 10pm roughly one hundred bees flying around and in and out of the nuc..around 11.30pm the bees swarmed..the bait hive was covered with bees and so was a fence post 10yards from the hive..15 mins later all the bees had gone back home..
I found the clipped Queen running on the ground and she is now safe in a nuc...that is another story but as far as bait hives go that is the kind of activity i will be looking for from now on..