Hello Layne, and all,

I hope I will not violate protocol by this answer!   The right
question is not where did the colony  go, but how could it have been
kept?   I submit this.
1.  Immediately, since you obviously have at least one colony, take a
frame of brood and eggs from it and put in it the swarm colony....this
will hold it indefinitely, and if there is no queen present, in 24
hours or less there will be a queen cell or several,  proving that the
queen was not captured, or was killed in the collection process...Not
stated was how and when you knew the colony had no queen. Were they
vacuumed up?  Were they brushed  into a box?  Was the box left on site
long enough for the bees to fan the colony location scent so that all
the bees and queen got in?
2.  Did you put some sugar syrup on the swarm box quickly?  Just this
will hold a queenless swarm sometimes for a day or two, during which
time one may get  a new queen for the colony, even if there is no
frame of brood.
3.  I have no information of where the swarm might have gone on
absconding.   Better luck next time!

Bob Barnett, Birmingham AL
----------
> From: Musashi <[log in to unmask]>
> To: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: where do queenless swarms go?
> Date: Thu, 27 May 1999 10:04:58 -0500
>
>I picked up a swarm of bees a few days ago that was obviously
queenless.
> My question is, "Where would they go?"  Since they don't have a
queen, yet seemed to want to stay
>together as a unit,
>
>Layne Westover
>College Station, Texas