>... witnessed an unusual event in our back yard....a swarm taking over a nuc.  This was in Massachusetts...we've never gotten stock from Dee....our bees are known by all visitors and inspectors as quite gentle...they are not AHB.

I'm surprised that this is news to anyone.  It is quite commonplace and we see it, or the results of that fairly frequently -- if we are not pre-programmed to interpret it as something else when it happens.  Of course, it helps to have  several  thousand hives and spend a lot of time in the yards (right Bob?)

I don't know about 'taking over', but we see swarms issuing and sitting on other hives regularly.  Sometimes they enter, sometimes not.  Queenless  hives  suddenly have a laying queen and larger  populations  that we recall.    Sometimes, though they don't enter, but build underneath or between hives. 

Who can explain it?  I can't.  

             ***********************************************
The BEE-L mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned
LISTSERV(R) list management software.  For more information, go to:
http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html

Guidelines for posting to BEE-L can be found at:
http://honeybeeworld.com/bee-l/guidelines.htm