> Will bees cluster even without a queen?
Yes. They cluster for the company of other bees.
> Will the bees left behind cluster back on the branch without a
>queen?
Yes. They will gather where she last was, and mope. When we used to pick up
swarms, half the time we'd get a call the next day, "There's another swarm!
In exactly the same place! It's as big as the last one!" -- Translated:
it's a teacup full of bees moping.
> How and when should I get the bees down in the brood chamber?
My guess would be to take the feed box off and shake the bees into the frames
again, then close up the box so there is no empty space between the lid and
the frames. Can you use a boardman or some other type of feeder that will
allow you to do this?
> If I don't have the queen how will the bees behave?
They might abscond. But they might abscond even without the queen. Or they
might make themselves at home and eventually become laying workers if you
don't provide them with a queen (or the means to make their own.) The brood
would have been a good idea. It would have drawn them into the brood chamber
right away, and they would have had a chance to make their own queen if the
queen was lost.
> If I don't have the queen what is the method for putting the bees
>into my less vigorous hive?
If they accept their new home, just put the box on the less vigorous hive.
Separate the two boxes with newspaper, so that the bees are separated for a
while until they've torn up the newspaper themselves (cut a few slits in the
newspaper to help get them started). By the time they meet each other face
to face, they'll be used to each others smell. After about a week, you can
open up the hive and remove any paper they haven't carried off.
> Should I treat for Varroa or see if I have resitant bees. I assumed
>the since I saw what seemed to be more than one race in the swarm that the
>queen was a locally mated queen.
Your call. I'd treat. Others wouldn't. You have to decide whether you want
to risk losing the hive in the interest of science. (I prefer breeding for
hygienic behavior in conjunction with treating.)
> If I don't treat the swam hive am I putting my other two hives at
>greater risk?
Maybe.
> What medications should I supply.
Apistan for varroa and Terramycin for foulbrood. (After all, you don't know
where these girls have been!)
> if I had the hive ready I could have hived them right there.
Most of the beekeepers I know (including me) don't bother with a hive to get
a swarm. We either use a cardboard box (with airholes poked in it and a
closeable entrance that the bees can use to come and go from) or a 5-gallon
bucket (the guy who uses a 5-gallon bucket puts the swarm in the bucket then
covers the top of the bucket with pantyhose so the bees can't get out but can
get plenty of air). Boxes and buckets are a lot lighter, easier to carry,
and easier to seal up without suffocating/overheating the bees. Then when we
get home, we spray them with some sugar water and dump them into the hive (or
you can let them walk in by themselves--I think either way works).
You did fine collecting your swarm. What I would have done differently after
collecting the bees in the pillowcase was dump all of them into the cardboard
box immediately, instead of trying to move them around in pillowcases. Or
just used the can without the pillowcase, then covered the can top with
screen (or pantyhose!). That way you wouldn't have had to move them into the
screen packages, either.
Since it was so close to your house, you could have left the cardboard box
(with the entrance open) under the tree, with the bees you had caught in it
(if the homeowners approved). The remaining bees would have found the boxed
bees, and either everyone would have made themselves at home or they all
would have absconded. In the evening, you could have come back, closed the
entrance, and walked off with a cardboard box containing all the bees from
the swarm. (or had an empty box for your pains...)
One general hint: swarms tend to be attracted to old combs. If you put old
comb in the hive, they will be more likely to stay. Ditto if you put old
comb in the cardboard box or bucket for them to cluster on.
A month ago, we found a swarm (ok, I admit it, 5 swarms) at a location of
ours. We didn't have hives, but we had some supers. We put 2 supers on the
ground next to each swarm, propped the bottom super up so that there was a
gap between it and the ground, shook as many bees as we could into the top
super, and covered it with a burlap sack (held down with a couple rocks).
The rest of the bees walked in on their own. We checked the "hives" a couple
days ago... they're happy as clams (and busy as bees). The moral of the
story is that swarms are not very picky.
Congratulations on your first swarm! May it prosper.
Exciting, ain't it?
Shawna Roberts
Gypsy Bees
Hollister, CA
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