> The following morning, the swarm absconded fron the hive back >into a
cluster on an upper limb of the tall white pine from wwhich they were
fetched. Again I retrieved the swarm and reinstalled it into the hive. By
late afternoon the swarm had once again left the hive to thier piney abode.

Cut a piece from an old queen excluder or from one of the new plastic
excluders   to cover the entrance . You can make many from an old excluder
or new plastic excluder..

After you hive the swarm place the piece over the entrance for a few days or
until the bees accept their new home. Less work than the other methods
posted and always works.
Even if you do not remove for a week the only problem is a few upset drones!
Make sure another entrance is not available as I have seen an entire swarm
pass through a single small hole!

Adding a frame of brood normally works but when you hive the swarm under the
tree the bees are clustered on (common practice)even with adding a frame of
brood and the scouts return with a new location the swarm many times will
leave.

Most swarms seem to move to an area outside the hive and then wait for the
scouts to find the permanent location. I have often wondered why if the bees
have been preparing to swarm for the last ten or so days why not go from the
hive directly to the new final location? Duh!

Bob

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