Eugene Makovec wondered: >about
> 5-10 minutes after dumping them in, as I stood talking
> to the locals and waiting for the rest of the bees to
> enter, I suddenly noticed that bees were coming out!  So what happened? <

It's anyone's guess, but your account is consistent with the bees having
just decided on a new site BEFORE  you boxed them - they had been there some
time , you said.  You then totally disrupted the social organisation within
the cluster by dropping them into the box , so communication within the
cluster stopped.  An established  swarm cluster is hollow, with holes thru
to the centre thru which returning bees get to the inside, and scout bees
can be seen 'dancing' on the surface. It took the 10 mins or more for the
cluster to reform within the nuc box, but the scouts could then make the
buzzing runs that get a swarm moving out of a hive in the first place - and
out they came and away.

So not much u could do - except to wrap a swarm box up in a cloth just as
soon as you dump the bees in, if the swarm has been out some time  - without
waiting for the fliers to go in - and saw it go while the garden owner gave
me a cup of tea.  I felt stupid as I was midway in a knowledgeable lecture
on how good bees were for the environment.  So now I always wrap up
straightaway.

Robin Dartington

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