I agree, I do not think the size/volume is crucial.  

I have seen swarms occupy single and double deeps (10 frame) and last year, I had 4 different swarms ( all occurred 1 week apart)  occupy a 5 frame nuc box which was sitting on my driveway on top of an empty 10 frame box (both were staged and ready for swarm calls as 2013 was a hectic swarm year).  I transferred the swarm from the nuc box into a 10 frame box and then put 5 frames (with at least 1 frame of drawn comb) back into the nuc box and set the nuc box back on top of the single 10 frame deep.   

As far as the height,  I do not think it really matters to the bees.   Otherwise, why would they occupy dead out hives which are essentially sitting on the ground or just a few inches above it?

I also baited the hive with a q-tip cotton swab which had 1 drop of lemon grass oil on each end.   I would lay the q-tip across the top bars towards the back of the hive.  Do not know if it helped attract the swarms, but it did not hurt. 

The bees will do what they need to do and to take a line from the movie "The Shooter",.....  "..just when you think you have the answer.....you are WRONG..."

As for 2014, the swarm calls have been virtually non existent here in Central Illinois.   Most of the calls have been for extractions/removals from structures.  

The speculation is the winter did in a lot of the un-managed (feral?) colonies as well as a lot of the managed colonies. 

The only swarms I have caught this year have been from my own managed colonies which had overwintered and I was fortunate enough to be in the different bee yards when the bees started pouring out and going into the swarm vortex (I was tending to other colonies when the swarms occurred...).  All the swarms mustered to a nearby spot and I was able to retrieve them and relocate the reclaimed swarms to other bee yards.

My plan is to alleviate the swarming of my own managed colonies next year...the how is for another topic post. 

Steve Petrilli, 
Central Illinois

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