In a message dated 98-03-17 09:36:26 EST, [log in to unmask] (FLORENCE
COOPER, RN) writes:
 
<<  However, the bees decided not to wait and the hive
 issued a HUGE swarm Mar. 6th.  It was spectacular.  My son spotted them high
in
 a neighbors pine tree and while I went inside to get an empty hive body to
try
 to tempt them down (There was no way I could get to that swarm without a fire
 truck ladder) they flew away to parts unknown.  The following week we had a
big
 cold snap--20-30 degrees F. at night and sometimes no higher than 40 degrees
in
 the daytime.>>
 
    This swarm is called a "prime" swarm. It found a home and moved on. You
may find it later in a hollow tree, an uninsulated wall, a church steeple, or
some other suitable place.
 
    Swarms are highly vulnerable after the swarm issues, as they have no
reserves other than the honey in their stomachs. The sudden cold and inability
to forage may have killed them.  Then again, sometimes they surprise us......
 
<< We had a really nice, warm weekend and this past Sunday, I noticed
 a lot of bees flying aroung the hive.  Then things calmed down.  Lo and
behold,
 yesterday, my son spotted a nice little swarm in the privet hedge and we went
 and hived it.  The swarm was not really docile nor was it overly aggressive.
 Some bees did try to sting me.  Could this swarm be the original one that
 swarmed and survived out in the open, during extremely cold temps for 5 days?
 Or did my hive swarm again so soon ....>>
 
   Yes, this is called an afterswarm, and has only a virgin queen. It is
important for that queen to get mated soon, and the cold weather may have
interfered. It would be a very good idea to give them a frame of brood with
eggs, to make sure they have the wherewithal to make a queen if the first one
fails to get mated. Of course this is also a good idea for your original hive,
which would up with a virgin queen as well.
 
   Have you been feeding them?  Or was this an entirely natural swarm?
 
   Remember, if you feed them thick syrup, you are giving them reserves. When
you feed them thin syrup, you are stimulating the queen to lay, which promotes
early buildup.  We are feeding heavily now, to make sure we don't lose any
hives in the gap between the maple flow and the real spring flow. We are also
thinning the syrup to stimulate them.  We expect a lot of early swarming, if
we don't keep ahead of the bees.  Of course we are planning to make nucs and
packages, so we need that "bee-power."
 
<<I have learned a lot from this experience and now know what an early spring
build-up looks like and will take steps to remove brood from the hive.  My
goal
next year is to try to have no swarms at all (this is my ideal, it will
probably not be reality!!)  If anyone on the list has any advice or words or
wisdom to share, please let me hear from you.>>
 
   Welcome to the marvelous, ever-learning, world of beekeeping.  Just when we
think we've learned how to do it, we find that the bees didn't read the same
book.
 
   Most of the really early swarms result from feeding. If you feed, keep this
in mind, so you don't get surprised next year.  (Then again, conditions may be
entirely different next year......)
 
    Good luck. Sounds like you have a good plan......
 
[log in to unmask]     Dave Green  Hemingway, SC  USA
The Pollination Scene:  http://users.aol.com/pollinator/polpage1.html
 
Jan's Sweetness and Light Shop    (Varietal Honeys and Beeswax Candles)
http://users.aol.com/SweetnessL/sweetlit.htm