Hi All/Matthew
 
You mention how you lost a newly hived swarm because it absconded.
 
In africa our bees really like to leave for no reason when swarmish.
 
To hold a swarm down the bees need a bit of capped brood surface - I
sometimes add a frame if I can spare one, but find that if I leave
the swarm in a hive box and feed it stacks of sugar for three days
(be sure to give them water as well otherwise they crawl everywhere
looking for it) in a very dark room. After this period they will have
some mass of eggs going and will have fed the queen up until she is
less likely to be able to fly. If you give them pollen (I usually
just lay a squate of comb from a hive that I have removed recently
on the base) it speeds up the egg laying proccess as well.
 
Keep well
 
Garth
 
 
Garth Cambray           Camdini Apiaries
Grahamstown             Apis mellifera capensis
Eastern Cape Prov.
South Africa
 
Time = Honey
 
After careful consideration, I have decided that if I am ever a V.I.P
the I. may not stand for important.
(rather influential, ignorant, idiotic, intelectual, illadvised etc)