On Sun, 12 May 1996, Hunahpu Matamoros wrote:
 
> My concern is that my only functioning Queen in in the centre
> of that inacessible swarm and that the other two hives don't
> have the material resources(honey/brood) to renew themselves.
 
Bee colonies don't deliberately commit suicide, so they should
be fine.  Of course, there are no guarantees here, but if you
now have two hives with Q cells, you have good insurance.
 
> Not knowing what a swarm box looks like I took a couple of
> large cardboard boxes and, after making an entrance hole, set
> one flush on top of the old hive and one on top of the rabbit
> hutch next to it(i also placed a comb of honey in each, hoping
> to attract the swarm).
 
:-) My swarm boxes look an awful lot like cardboard boxes. I
don't usually bother with that fancy entrance hole thingy.
I just turn it upside down and prop a corner up on something
until all the flyers are in.
 
What you've set up is what I would call a bait hive. There's
a reasonable chance they'll use it -- if they're still in that
tree, they're probably still looking for a good new home.
 
Regards,
--
Gordon Scott   [log in to unmask]      [log in to unmask] (work)
The Basingstoke Beekeeper (newsletter)      [log in to unmask]
<A HREF="http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/apis">Embryo Home Page</A>
Beekeeper; Kendo 3rd Dan; Sometime sailor.  Hampshire, England.