Hi, bear with me! I got a call this morning re swarm in a dustbin in church yard. checked, good size swarm very at home in said ((full) dustbin. Back ate 8 tonight to collect. easy, brought dustbin home to field. But it's my last empty hive, a National when I've only used WBCs before. boards and white cloth at the ready, laid dustbin out got them onto cloth. No movement for first almost hour. then started to go in. Very slowly. then loads gathered around entrance. some further down cloth kept moving cloth . Probably two thirds gone in, large bunch around entrance not moving so as it was getting dark I kept trying to clear the entrance softly with brush for those who would go in, those at bottom of cloth that weren't moving up at all I put in top of hive and have just come into house leaving a clump around the size of two fists at the entrance.
Now on my WBCs the entrance gap goes right along the front. On this national that I was given by a retiring, every experienced old beekeeper (all in good condition) the entrance hole is much smaller and only in the middle.
Did I do right? what else could/should I have done? I'll have to see in the morning whether they all made it in tonight. My guess is those at the bottom of the cloth were too hungry/weak to move up as they must have been in the dustbin a fair time as there was comb with brood in. Oh yeh, I removed one of the 11 frames and put the comb with brood in that gap before anything else. Was that the right thing to do and should I leave it there now or put the frame back in in a few days. there wouldn't have been room for the large comb had I not removed a frame. I'm totally new to a national hive so all help appreciated. thanks.
