Bill wrote of swarms:

> The thing of interest here is we are left with bees. I am sure an 
> entomologist out there will answer this, but what signal is there to those 
> who leave to go and to those who stay to stay? Since a colony can cast off 
> multiple swarms, is it only the field bees, and if so why multiple swarms 
> and that they all do not leave with the first one?

If a queen is clipped and is lost when the colony tries to swarm, we often 
see a huge swarm emerge with the first virgin to emerge.  It seems to me 
that the majority of bees leave with her because most of the brood has 
emerged and they have no future without her; the hive can be left virtually 
empty.

Best wishes
Peter Edwards
beekeepers at stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk
www.stratford-upon-avon.freeserve.co.uk/

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